ZIMBABWEAN theatre takes a significant leap onto the global stage with the return of Song Unburied to Harare’s Theatre in the Park on July 18 and 19, ahead of its much-anticipated showcase at the Edinburgh Festival in August.
Written by acclaimed author and cultural commentator Panashe Chigumadzi and directed by veteran theatre producer Daves Guzha, the play is a gripping narrative that intertwines Zimbabwe’s post-colonial struggles with the unresolved legacy of Mbuya Nehanda’s stolen remains.
Featuring award-winning performers Charmaine Mujeri, Dalma Chiwevera and Tinevimbo Chimbetete, the production has garnered high praise for its poignant storytelling, spiritual depth and its hauntingly beautiful score by composer Abel Mafuleni.
The first Zimbabwean play performed at South Africa’s State Theatre, Song Unburied, continues to capture hearts and minds with its call for remembrance, ritual and cultural reclamation.
In the play Song Unburied, Mujeri, Chiwevera and Chimbetete play their roles in a highly engaging way. The play has enjoyed wide and extensive local and media reviews, which include and are not limited to the following.
“Charmaine Mujeri and Dalma Chiwevera perform with incredible dexterity, the pillars of a tale that provides its spin on a fascinating sub-genre,” wrote 3-MOB editor Larry Kwirirayi.
“Great play. Relevant and topical, well-directed, produced and acted — and beautifully written,” commented theatre critic John Stewart.
At the heart of Song Unburied is the story of Rambisayi Mangosho, the British Museum’s first black curator of Zimbabwean descent. Haunted by dreams and unable to return home to bury her grandmother, Mangosho is drawn into the spiritual and historical mysteries surrounding the unreturned remains of Mbuya Nehanda, Zimbabwe’s legendary anti-colonial heroine.
- Almasi presents The Homecoming Queen
- Almasi hosts staged Reading of August Wilson's Jitney
- Historical play ‘Song Unburied’ set for Edinburgh after Harare return
Keep Reading
Guided by Tsitsi, a war veteran-turned-museum caretaker, Mangosho begins a ritual journey of remembrance, resistance and reparation. Together, they uncover a spiritual connection and a shared totem and both are Chihera. But as they discover Nehanda’s bones in the museum basement, they must confront the truth: the bones cannot simply be sent home, not without a ritual, not without consequence. Chigumadzi’s storytelling interweaves myth, memory and modern politics in a play that’s equal parts poetic and political.
Chigumadzi, born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa, is no stranger to storytelling that challenges colonial narratives and reclaims black identity. She’s the award-winning author of Sweet Medicine and the critically-acclaimed essay collection These Bones Will Rise Again.
As it heads to Edinburgh, Song Unburied is more than just a theatrical production it is also a bold artistic intervention in global
conversations around colonialism, identity and spiritual justice.
Chigumadzi’s powerful script and Guzha’s seasoned direction combine to present a story that resonates across borders, inviting audiences to reckon with the past while envisioning a future rooted in dignity and healing.
