A scene from ‘Operation Restore Regasi’
Upenyu Chaota
The Charles Austin Theatre Drama Club’s ‘Operation Restore Regasi’ mesmerised the audience when it premiered at the theatre last Friday.
The play retraces events that culminated in the resignation of President Robert Mugabe following a military intervention codenamed Operation Restore Legacy.
Directed and scripted by Charles Munganasa, Operation Restore Regasi dramatises events, real and imagined, that took place mainly at Mugabe’s private mansion popularly known as Blue Roof.
The play opens at Blue Roof with Grace Mugabe rehearsing her next public tirade against those perceived to be opposed to her ascendency to the presidium, with George Charamba cheering her on.
The packed Charles Austin Theatre was amused by the remarkable display of talent by the cast of mainly young actors who gave an amusing glimpse of what was happening behind the scenes in the wake of the military operation.
Mugabe is caricatured as a jittery character who however tries to cunningly keep his position despite the military intervention, but is left dejected after finding out that events have overtaken him.
“I am your Commander in Chief and you have no right to deploy yourselves without me giving you the order. You are violating the constitution,” a livid Mugabe tells General Constantino Chiwenga.
The general is himself mocked for his perceived difficulties pronouncing the ‘L’ syllable, thus ‘Regasi’ instead of ‘Legacy’.
Grace is also satirically portrayed as a character with no self-control and as suffering from severe emotional instability, causing her to cry herself unconscious when she realises that power has suddenly slipped from her family’s hands when it had just seemed like she had it all under control.
The play ends with the public celebrating Mugabe’s resignation, with a distraught Grace crying her voice out at Blue Roof.
“This play promises to be one of our best and we are glad that the audience have found it to be a rib cracker. We thank the people for their continued support which is helping the development of theatre in Masvingo,” Munganasa told TellZim News.entertainment
