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Jasen Mphepo in ‘1 000 Miles’

Arts Editor

Veteran actor Jasen Mphepo proved his mettle as one of the best actors in the country through his outstanding performance in one-man play titled “1000 Miles” at Theatre in the Park recently. Mphepo took audiences through an exciting insight into various issues affecting ghetto youths and the topical social theme of cheating and promiscuity.He plays the character of Bernard Mabhena, a man who is hit by a car and dies at the age of 65, and begins reflecting on his life.

The play is set at Bernard’s funeral where the ‘dead man’ recounts his life story and how he died in sad circumstances after his wife discovers he is cheating on her.

Bernard brings the spiritual realm to the physical world and tells audiences about his upbringing, marriage and challenges that he faces in life.

He identifies relatives and friends at his funeral and narrates how they walked the journey of life together.

He narrates how he met his wife and how she trusted him in all situations until she caught him cheating.

He also tells how he grew up with his brother in the ‘Cherima’ area of Highfield and their shenanigans as young people.

Bernard narrates how they shared small rooms as families and the challenges they faced in such settings, especially during the night.

As he grows up and finds a job, he has to battle with the temptation of promiscuity, which sees him enrolling for rehabilitation with a boys club that encourages faithfulness in marriage.

However, after six months of being faithful husbands, the men decide to go on a celebration party to salute themselves for their ‘cleanliness’.

During the party, they meet some ladies and, after getting drunk, their vows fall away and they slump back into their old ways.

Bernard wakes up in a hotel room without a clear memory of what happened the previous night. He finds a note from a lady he spent the night with and she promises to call him later.

Dejected and disappointed that he had broken the ‘boys club’ vow, Bernard rushes home and finds his wife angry.

She does not ask him about the incident and her quietness haunts Bernard, who does not know what she is planning.

On their way to work, his wife discovers a woman’s undergarments in the car and throws the panties at him without saying a word.

Bernard convinces his boss to transfer him from Harare to Mutare so that he can solve his mess from a distance.

He meets his wife during weekends and everything seems to fall back into place.

After sometime, his one-night stand girlfriend calls him to announce she is pregnant. They begin to see each other again and the two women take turns to visit Bernard in Mutare.

The girlfriend pesters Bernard to send her his photographs, but the move leads to the final straw on his life.

His wife discovers the photos and a love letter that Bernard has written to his girlfriend. When the wife continues with her ‘quiet diplomacy’ the issue torments Bernard and he decides to go out to smoke while mapping his way forward.

As soon as he goes out of the gate, a speeding car hits Bernard and he dies on the spot.

The last part is captures skillfully through a video and the ending leads to the funeral where people are gathered as Bernard watches them from the spiritual world. Mphepo wrote and directed the play.