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The emotive play sets out to show gender-based violence and imbalances in a patriarchal society.
The play was a befitting production, especially that it premiered on International Women’s Day.
On the whole, the play advocates zero tolerance to gender-based violence all year round, which resonates in the “365” title referring to the number of days in a year.
In the play, a woman suffers from indecision as to whether or she should leave her abusive husband. Her dilemma stems from being a member of the women’s guild at church while on the other hand if she leaves she feels that her husband would have a chance to marry his “small house”, Linda.
In a poignant case of a “victim being a sympathiser of a perpetrator”, Mai Janet played by Charity Dlodlo (in her debut appearance at Theatre in the Park), fears losing her marriage and would not want her daughter Janet (another debutante Rumbidzai Karize) to face the same dilemma.
She warns Janet against having a boyfriend and that as a woman, her daughter was supposed to do house chores.
But when she demands quality time with her husband, he refuses saying that he would rather go out than being with her.
But all hell breaks loose when she confronts him about his girlfriend Linda.
She is heavily assaulted and she does not want her children to know that their father is abusive. Her young sister Rudo (Evange-lista Mwatse) visits her and advises Mai Janet to go to court and seek a protection order against her husband.
That in its own presents challenges as Mai Janet was brought up in a patriarchal family.
She says: “People think it’s easy to challenge a man.”
And when Mai Janet is told that her husband will continue abusing her unless she takes him to court, she unwillingly digs in.
“You want me to send my husband to prison, there is no way I can do that,” she says. Typical of Zimbabwean societies, an aunt then tries to intervene.
There were laugh-out-loud moments in the auditorium when Tete, played by Evangelista, took centre stage.
However, Tete touches a hornet’s nest when she suggests that Baba Janet formalises his second marriage.
“365” ends in suspense as there are no prescribed solutions as to how families can avoid gender-based violence. The play runs until March 26 starting at 5pm everyday except for Mondays and Sundays.