The inaugural Zimbabwean Writer's Retreat by Almasi Collaborative Arts, in partnership with The Public Theatre (New York), concluded yesterday, , with participating playwrights sharing their reflections on the experience.
Held in Harare from March 31 to April 12, this pioneering initiative provided a dedicated space for five selected Zimbabwean playwrights to further develop their plays within an environment designed to foster wonder, creativity, and fearless artistic exploration. Participants were encouraged to harness their imagination, experiment with novel ideas, and challenge their creative limits in a supportive setting.
The five playwrights chosen for this inaugural retreat were Amanda Ranganawa (Mutare), author of House of Economics; Tatenda Mutyambizi (Harare), author of These Humans Are Sick; Kingsley Chinhanu (Mutare), author of St Dominic's Girls; Philani Nyoni (Bulawayo), author of Death Re-Member Me and Rudo Mutangadura (Harare), author of The Return.
Director and producer, Amanda Ranganawa, author of House of Economics
"I am grateful for the creative space that we have been given to write and explore more ideas to make our plays great pieces of art and literature. I am excited to see how my play comes out after this."
Tatenda Mutyambizi, author of These Humans Are Sick, is a fun-loving extrovert. While he neither sings nor dances, he writes with the aim of challenging perceptions and celebrating the meaning of life.
"During the retreat, I worked on the motivations of my characters, the conviction, and the workability of the story within the world of my play, These Humans Are Sick. I am also re-igniting my passion for writing and learning from my fellow writers through community," he said.
Mutare-based Kingsley Chinhanu, the author of St Dominic's Girls, said Almasi gave him a chance to focus on his writing without distractions.
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"Writing as a full-time job sounds very unrealistic in a place like Zimbabwe, doesn’t it? But Almasi gave me two weeks to do just that and nothing else. This writer’s retreat has enabled me to focus on my craft and work on my play, St Dominic’s Girls, without distractions and at my own pace. This is invaluable to me as a growing artist, and I can’t wait to see what I produce in this nurturing environment. And I would like to thank Almasi for making a dream come true in the midst of a seemingly impossible time."
Philani A. Nyoni, author of Death Re-Member Me, is a Zimbabwean-born writer, poet, film, and theatre maker. His last publication, The Testament Of Black Jesus, developed at the 2021 Almasi African Playwrights Conference, has received literary awards in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Botswana.1 It is also being studied at the California State University in Los Angeles. Philani currently serves as a language coach and a creative director with the Centre For Talent Development in Bulawayo.
"I am challenging myself with my third mono-drama tentatively titled Death Re-Member Me. It is a play that deals with a heavy subject matter but doesn’t want to be too heavy itself. I am infinitely grateful for this pleasant opportunity to be able to read and write uninterrupted for most of the day, then pick the minds of some fine people later on."
Rudo Mutangadura, the author of The Return, said: "Over the past week and a half, I have been doing some research and character work for my play, The Return. I have managed to write some new scenes as a result."
