It is good to see a new theatre opening in London and the arrival of Brixton House is real cause for celebration. It replaces with a brand new building in a new location on Coldharbour Lane the venue originally situated at the Oval and called Oval House. That venue had a long and very illustrious history of radical theatre work and community and educational work. It is a lot for Brixton House to live up to but under artistic director Gbolahan Obisesan it is making a good start with Tonderai Munyevu’s personal story about the rise and fall of the African dictator. There is lots more this week to like including Tangled Feet’s children’s show, Butterflies. Plenty to look forward to as well including Heather Agyepong’s The Body Remembers, and Swiss Selection Live (featuring Black Off, Here & Now and Binaural views of Switzerland), a chance to see work from some of Switzerland’s most dynamic theatre-makers. Check it out.
April, 1980. The British colony of Rhodesia becomes the independent nation of Zimbabwe. A born free, Tonderai Munyevu is part of the hopeful next generation from a country with a new leader, Robert Mugabe. Mugabe, My Dad & Me charts the rise and fall of one of the most controversial politicians of the 20th century through the personal story of Tonderai’s family and his relationship with his father. Interspersing storytelling, live music from a Gwenyambira (a female mbira player) and some of Mugabe’s most unapologetic speeches, this high-voltage one-man show is a blistering exploration of familial love, identity and what it means to return ‘home’. Shortlisted for The Alfred Fagon Award 2019.