Financial Gazette (Harare)
22 August 2008
Harare — ONE of Zimbabwe's busiest theatre actors today is Tafadzwa Muzondo, a brilliant and naturally talented artist. This year alone he has featured in three plays in a row and all performed at Theatre in The Park.
Muzondo, 29 has featured in the last three plays at Theatre in the Park - Sahwira, Teeth and Loupe.
In Teeth, a play written by Alex Magaisa, Muzondo plays "Z", an ex-combatant tormented by the violence and torture he inflicted on others in the past.
So versatile is the actor that in Loupe he plays four characters as a brother, father, prophet and a female sex-worker.
Daves Guzha, Rooftop Promotions producer said he was pleasantly surprised by Muzondo's performances in both Loupe and Sahwira.
"I decided to cast him in Teeth. His performances particularly in Loupe reminded me what good theatre acting was all about."
At the moment Muzondo is rehearsing in yet another play, Threads, which is set to tour the region at the end of this month.
Muzondo is not new to the stage. He formed the Edzai Isu Theatre Art Project which used to perform health-related plays at work places.
He said: "It is from here that I developed into the actor I am today. I enjoy both stages -- the conventional and work-related theatres."
Muzondo's first attempt at theatre was in the award winning All Systems Out of Order, which first premiered at Theatre in the Park in 2004.
He wrote, directed, produced and acted in the play, which later toured Zambia, where he received the Best Producer Award at the April International Theatre Festival.
In 2006 he worked on a HIFA project called the Frog Queen and in the same year worked on the Bus Stop Journals, which was a joint venture between the University of Zimbabwe and Calpoly University in the United States.
In this project, he had the opportunity to interact with some of Zimbabwe's theatre academics such as Owen Seda and Nehemiah Chivandikwa who are both lecturers in the department of Theatre Arts at the University of Zimbabwe.
He also participated in the HIFA Hi5 Project for upcoming playwrights.
Muzondo had a brief stint with Studio 263 as a writer and an actor.
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