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Kundai Marunya Arts Correspondent
Almasi Collaborative Arts is set to give local audiences a rare treat in a play written and directed by women, featuring an all-female cast at Old Mutual Theatre, Alliance Francaise last Friday.

Written by Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh, the play “Schoolgirls/The African Mean Girls Play” comes as part of Almasi’s stage reading series, which has seen many local and international plays being showcased. It is directed by Sandra Chidawanyika-Goliath, featuring a combination of seasoned and emerging cast.

“We are excited to bring Ms Bioh’s play to the Zimbabwean public as it provides us with a unique opportunity to stage a play written by a woman, performed with an all-female cast, and helmed by a female director,” said Almasi director Elizabeth Muchemwa.

“The staged reading is a testament of the endlessly beautiful possibilities abounding when women are enabled to equally occupy spaces with their male counterparts within the dramatic arts sector.” “Schoolgirls/African Mean Girls” is an acclaimed play that won the prestigious Lortel Award for best play. The play narrates a typical high school squabble between Paulina, the reigning ‘queen bee’ at Ghana’s most exclusive boarding school and Ericka, the daughter of a local cocoa tycoon, who transfers in from Ohio for her senior year.

“Throwing unsparing light on questions of ambition, deceit, and the ultimate value of a fair-skinned complexion, this biting comedy by Jocelyn Bioh reinvents the American ‘Mean Girl’ genre to explore the universal similarities and glaring differences facing teenage women across the globe.” said Muchemwa.

She said the play fits in her organisation’s goal to introduce Zimbabwean audiences to works by African writers in the diaspora and to enhance local arts.

“The staged readings are designed to advance dramatic literacy in the community. Dramatic literacy is a crucial component of powerful, excellent play-making,” said Muchemwa.

“A noticed component needed in Zimbabwean dramatic arts development is the comprehension and in-depth analysis of excellent dramatic works that have come before.

“Without an awareness and understanding of some of the greatest dramatic works, the Zimbabwean dramatic artist cannot develop to the level of dramatic literacy necessary to create compelling, well structured, dramatic works.”