An acclaimed theatre play, No Voice, No Choice currently on tour in three provinces until September 22 was halted from showing at the Chimanimani Arts Festival at the weekend.
This came a few weeks after it was disrupted by Masvingo Central Police after only two performances in the province at Nyika and Jerera respectively.
The play which was pencilled for last Friday and Saturday could not proceed at the festival after alleged State security agents threatened to shut the entire festival if the play was staged, festival director Chido Musasiwa said.
“After hearing the news I compromised with Musasiwa that the afternoon show be closed, as it was supposed to be an open air show and the show was now meant to have those that thought it was not fit for the public, and the final position from a certain Sibanda who is CIO head in Chimanimani, according to Musasiwa, was that the play could no longer be staged at all,” play producer Tafadzwa Muzondo told NewsDay yesterday.
He said the play was not political, but a social play on community peace building.
“It’s unfortunate when certain authorities do not understand that as artists our aim is to promote community peace building, healing and reconciliation, which is in sync with the festival theme for this year ‘One Love One Nation-Peace’ and is also promoting objectives of the organ on National Healing Reconciliation and Integration, which falls under the Office of the President and Cabinet,” Muzondo said.
He said the Chimanimani incident was similar to the Masvingo situation where the police tried to ban a play which had been given a nod by the Home Affairs Board of Censorship.
Muzondo said with such situations, one would be left wondering whose interests these authorities were serving because the GNU principals had come out publicly against political violence and as artists they were playing their role of projecting the message.
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No Voice, No Choice is a play about youth leaders from conflicting parties, who decide to speak jointly against violence in their communities in favour of reconciliation and peace, just as the major principals have spoken out publicly against violence.
The play has so far been successfully performed at Nyika growth point, Jerera growth point, Charles Austin Theatre (all in Masvingo) as well as Nyanga terminus in Manicaland, among other places where they had no problems getting approvals from the police.
