The Sunday News
Amanda Ncube, Sunday News Reporter
NHIMBE Trust in partnership with Young Vic Theatre UK has selected Nomashawekazi Damasane from Bulawayo for the Unified Women project scriptwriter.
The Young Vic Theatre and Nhimbe Trust are partners in The Unified Women Project, which will provide cultural exchange between young women and emerging creatives in both the UK and Zimbabwe, through collaboration to produce a unique theatre piece which will explore topical themes such as migration, conflict, feminism and the ways in which the ideas relate to their lives and differing experiences.
Together with a director from the UK, the participants will attend workshops, rehearse, and then perform a sharing of what they have produced.
“Set to roll out this September, the project will empower young women aged 18-25 from some of the most vulnerable communities in both London and Bulawayo, as they come together to jointly create a theatre piece, and a call was made for a female playwright from Zimbabwe to work alongside director as a creative team,” reads part of the press statement.
Also known as Lady Tshawe, Noma has published since 2003, sang, acted and written an impressive list of ground-breaking artistic products and projects. Most recently she is featured as a lead role in the vivid and high-energy production Tellers: The Musical by Raisedon Baya which is destined for Harare on 5-6 May 2017.
Noma said “I am ever so humbled to have been selected to be a part of this project. For me this project not only means that I get to write a play but it means I get to learn! I get to grow as an artiste. I get to be inspired by a different school of thought and I get to face a fear. And as always I am up for a challenge! I am looking forward to working with the director and the creative team as a whole.”
While Thoko Zulu’s play Lunatic was also selected by Nhimbe Trust, the play explores challenges faced by women in politics.
Lunatic gives an insight into extreme human behaviour and the conflicts and demands of living in an unjust society. Thoko said: “I am a woman who has built her skills pushing creative boundaries to give my work an individual signature, something which has made me unpopular in some circles. I tackle subjects through inspiration to communicate my purpose.”
“An industry player for over 20 years, the audience and competition has changed meaning of choices made during inception of an idea are crucial. I will continue building a distinguished reputation with a goal to entertain, educate and inspire. It is also my way of rebranding myself as an artiste to open my work to a new world for collaborations and new projects. This is a very tough industry built on appearances and an artiste’s worth is measured by the quality of their portfolio. First and foremost, I am a Zimbabwean, a mother, and like every other woman out there I miss my children — and want to come back home,’’ she said.
