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Kusile Madlela Showbiz Reporter
THE Taking – a play on colonisation, produced by renowned multi-award winning playwright Raisedon Baya, will premiere at the Bulawayo Amphitheatre today. The thought-provoking play, which will take people back into history, was directed by Memory Kumbota who also directed the successful Umbiko kaMadlenya play.

Baya said the play about survival and identity was expected to take live theatre to a new dimension with its vibrant cast which comprises senior actors, Zenzo Nyathi – who worked with Amakhosi on various productions, Aleck Zulu – who has done television and veteran actor Gift Chakuvinga. Younger members of the cast include up-and-coming actors Elton Sibanda and Musa Sibanda.

“The Taking will take you back into history – to colonisation, liberation, and the land issue, looking at land as a national treasure, heritage and also as a source of conflict.

“We want to take our audiences back to those chaotic years and make them remember. Theatre is a bank where we should keep our very important national narratives and then, once in a while, take them out for everyone to remember who we are and where we come from,” Baya said.

Using vivid imagery and clever storytelling, the play questions the role of storytellers and their stories in present day Zimbabwe.

“The Taking takes no sides but seeks to remind us of where we come from and who we are as Zimbabweans,” he said.

Baya said the play sought to tell a story that is not only Zimbabwean but also African.

“The production is looking into probably the most relevant resource in Africa, land. We aim to show people what land means to Africans in terms of identity, being the backbone of the livelihood of the majority of people on the continent,” said Baya.

Freedom of expression is also a key element that is being advocated in the play’s overall message.

“We focused on the historical context of the country looking at the land and segregation that blacks were subjected to under the rule of the white minority during the colonial era.”

In the play, a storyteller is arrested for performing folktales without a censorship or clearance certificate from relevant authorities.

During the same week, a young farm labourer/maid is also arrested on suspicion of murdering an old white farmer who had adopted her while she was young. Their stories connect as the play gathers momentum.