Mwanawashe is a Salad Boy - neither Western or African, he is a young Zimbabwean educated in Glasgow, conflicted between his love for the West and the traditional values and expectations of his heritage. Read more …
Returning to Harare for his elder brother's wedding, Mwana has a secret to reveal which has far wider consequences than he can imagine.
Mwana needs to face up to his responsibilities but can he?
Mwana is a coming of age story which explores family, race, tradition and secrets using spoken word, film and sound design.
If the play's construction is compromised, Sithole nevertheless possesses considerable fire as a writer, with plenty of poetic colour in his language that overshadows the play's more naturalistic exchanges in a story that is told from a rarely seen perspective.
Shabina Aslam’s first production as Ankur’s artistic director looks more like a tentative opening-up of the subject, than a fully-finished show.
Shabina Aslam's production is full of colourful details – projections, video sequences and incursions of apple sellers into the audience – but such extravagances only add extra layers of uncertainty as to what this play is truly about.
Given the considerable growth of Glasgow’s African population, particularly over the past 12 years or so, there is, no doubt, a fine play to be written about people whose identity comprises both Scotland and Africa. Unfortunately, Mwana is not that play.
There have been deeper and more profound takes on the same subject but Ankur Productions‘ show is a timely and well crafted view of our cultural confusion in the age of globalisation. With it’s mix of audiovisuals and witty dialogue, it also provides a fresh view on Zimbabwe itself from the desperate bleakness of the new reports.
Mwana is a new play from Glasgow-based Ankur Productions
Tron Theatre, Glasgow from Friday February 10, 2012, until Saturday February 18, 2012. More info: www.tron.co.uk
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from Wednesday February 22, 2012, until Saturday February 25, 2012. More info: www.traverse.co.uk