After enjoying its Zimbabwean debut at HIFA 2012, the acclaimed drama Eclipsed has opened for a short run in Theatre Upstairs at Reps, in Harare’s Belgravia Shopping Centre.
Eclipsed is set in Liberia in 2003 and its setting is a camp for rebels who are members of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). Written by Zimbabwean playwright Danai Gurira and directed by Zane E Lucas, assisted by Patience Tawengwa, the play was warmly received at HIFA, where it was described as one of the best theatrical presentations stage this year.
The play is staged by The Repertory Players and runs from Thursday May 10 to Saturday May 19, with performances most nights at 7pm and matinee performances at 2.30pm on both Saturdays of the run. It is rated 18 and no children will be admitted.
Said Zane Lucas: “By 2003 Liberia had been undergoing civil war for more than five years. LURD was at war with the army of tyrannical leader Charles Taylor, a war that engulfed the people of Liberia. Young boys were taught how to fire AK47s and fed cocaine to make them war worthy. The old and helpless were killed, or horribly maimed. Both factions were responsible for these atrocities, including kidnapping young, girls and women and raping them, some became wives of the Commanding officers, or just playthings for the other soldiers.”
The play is set in this fiery situation and examines an unhappy situation involving five women in the LURD camp.
"In August 2003, Charles Taylor fled Liberia and went in to exile in Nigeria," said Mr Lucas. "He was recently indicted for war crimes in Sierra Leone and Liberia continues to mend itself under the leadership of Africa’s first – and until recently only – female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. It is a story that remains topical and valuable."
The cast includes Chipo Chikara, Yandani Mlilo, Precious Mudzingwa, Rutendo Chigudu and Sandra Goliath.
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