Blessing’s HIFA Diary - Day 4, Bedridden spirit, poetry & ZESA
30 April Friday
Lion Lager day
“Life is just a shelter for the soul.” – Phillippa Yaa de Villiers - poet (HIFA 2010)
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Today my body came to HIFA but my spirit stayed in bed. It caught up with me much later on, just before the Hot House Flowers show in the evening but by that time I could only persuade my body to stay only a little bit longer.
My day started off with Only Hope, a play at the Standard Theatre, which ironically enough began with a funeral scene, just like Hamlet did, in the same theatre two days ago. The dirge they sang was exactly the same as in Hamlet, but without the searing quality of the delivery, however, it fitted the scene. Deja-vu? I sat too close to the front and felt far too involved in the whole enterprise. I always prefer to be a little further away so as not to feel too captive an audience. However, there was some really good acting here. Read more
Blessing’s HIFA Diary - Day 3, ambiguity, finding God & poverty
29 April, Thursday
Stanbic Bank day
“A country that’s going through some ambiguous moments.” - Maria Wilson – HIFA Executive Director, talking about Zimbabwe.
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Day two without electricity – I think this qualifies as one of those ambiguous moments. I am not home all day so I haven’t really felt it too badly yet except for the unfairness of driving past lit suburbs all the way home after midnight only to reach ours that is in complete darkness. Thank God for the full moon otherwise it would be an untenable situation.
After leaving the press room way past the time of the first show I was supposed to see, I picked up an artist friend who is performing tonight. She wanted to go shopping for a shiny, purple, body hugging, short jacket with long sleeves. In Harare! I thought the flea market in Avondale would be the best place and also convenient as it was also the location for my next show. We didn’t find the jacket, of course – in Harare! – BUT I was very surprised at the wide selection on clothes available there and if there was a purple jacket of that particular description to be found anywhere in Harare, it would be here I think. We went on to the show. Read more
Blessing’s HIFA Diary- Day 0- ZESA, journos, partying
26 April, Monday Press Accreditation
I don’t want to begin my note with a gripe but seriously ZESA WTF!? Despite paying an overpriced electric bill we have had electricity less than 50% of the time this month. I almost can’t bear it.
Anyway, the light at the end of this week’s tunnel is that with HIFA on I will be too busy to care about not having power. So, off I went to get accredited with a press pass for the week and if anything has changed since I was last a member of the press for HIFA, it the rules. I think it was 2005 and there weren’t too many of us covering the events and there just as few rules. Today however, the room was PACKED and the rules were plenty. Regardless, one of the things that I had forgotten about us Zimbos i our complete inability to appreciate personal space. Oh no such thing in this place, your sweat is my sweat, your breath is my breath. It should be something I’m used to by now but I am not.
To continue, the press accreditation started on time - Kudos media liaison officer and continued smoothly until there was a sudden change in the perception of the journos who hadn’t yet been called up to get their tags. It seemed that there was a marked lack of trust in the proceedings for no apparent reason: I cannot count on one hand the number of times the beleagured press officer had to tell journalists to sit down and wait until their names were called. No, quite a few people believed that this was not going to happen and as a result they continually stood up to go and mill around the front tables, ask questions and generally stop things from actually moving forward. It was kinda funny and so typical.
After milling around myself for a bit, I moved on to go and mill around elsewhere until the British Council-hosted HIFA party. There are a number of theatre poductions featuring at HIFA this year that were sponsored by the HIFA Direct programme in partnership with the British Coucil. If I had some decent light I would be able to look at my programme and tell you how many and what they are but I did meet quite a few of the young directors and actors and actresses, one of whom is Chipo Chung whom I last saw on an episode of some UK drama series - The Bill comes to mind but it could just as well have been Holby City - Chipo I know this won’t impress you but I do suffer from vague moments like this from time to time ( also I am under pressure to finish writing before my battery runs out so I can’t really take the time to look it up but if I had to pt money on it I would say Holby City). Anyway, Chipo - rising star, was my junior at school so it was lovely to see her again.
I wonder though, where everyone has gone that I used to know. It used to be that I would go to these receptions and know 80% of the people there as more than just acquaintances but now, I am everyone elses’ acquaintance and a new face to many. Should I have moved on to some other place by now - I think I miss many boats in life - I don’t know why nobody ever tells me when things are changing. But hey, I’m here for HIFA, once again and that’s definitely a good thing. Now all I need is to find a secret spot that will be free and safe from miscreants anytime I need to park my car and life will be makeke. Opening night tomorrow - Yay!
ZESA Yazvikonewa
Nei nyika yerugare ichinzvenga seine chikwereti neni?
Ndinongomuka ndiri ini, nemburwa yaindinetsa nezuro!
Asi hope yandarota husiku hwapfuura ndiyo yandishurira
Kurota ndiri maTM, ndichitenga chingwa pasina queue
Nemasherefu azere shuga, mukaka nezvipondamwoyo.
Ndoti ndamuka wanei pombi dzeZINWA dzinongoshona mhepo
Kushungurudzwa kwave kudya sadza revana, kuita musuvanzombe
Kuchinanzva ndiro dzichisara dzave mwedzi muchena.
Iwe Democracy neweSovereignty – bikai chingwa, kwete nzara
Tipeiwo mwenje wekuvhenekera rima ranyanya iri
ZESA yazvikonewa, tobaiwa nevaroyi nematsotsi murima
Mwenje watinoda ndiye Jesu chiyedza chenyika!
Ignatius T. Mabasa
