First African opera written and staged in UK!

PRG member and playwright lecturer, Zodwa Nyoni wrote the African opera, Tears Are Not Meant To Stay Inside. This is the first African opera written and staged in the United Kingdom. Zodwa was interviewed by the African Performance Review about her artistic evolution from poetry to theatre, film, television and now opera!

Tears Are Not Meant To Stay Inside is about an ancestral ritual of healing and release. Nomvula feels displaced and invisible in her life. She goes to a Traditional Healer to cure her unsettled spirit. It was part of Buxton International Festival which took place in July last year. Find out more using the link below.

African Performance Review have published their article A Conversation with Playwright Zodwa Nyoni, they highlight  ‘her commitment to storytelling rooted in African performance traditions, diasporic identity and black women’s experiences. Nyoni discusses the opera’s development process, its grounding in Zimbabwean healing rituals, the challenges and possibilities of multilingual composition, and the collaborative dynamics between writer, composer and director.’

To read more follow the link below!