Vakavigwa (Burials/They Were Buried), Theatre
Venue: Centenary Hall at St Andrews College
Next Performance: Friday 27 June 20:00
Interview
By Ndalo Mbombo
2025 Heineken Playwright Winner, Campbell Meas is preparing to showcase Vakavigwa (Burials/They Were Buried), what she has described as the“ first iteration” of a production that could grow beyond what the audience is set to see this festival. In an unexpected plot twist, Meas finds herself claiming two titles; playwright and director. Meas said, “ I realised I was fearful of entering my own work and bringing it to life” while speaking about the creative process of directing the play with only 3 weeks in which to transition conception to performance-ready.
Vakavigwa (Burials/They Were Buried) grapples with the themes of justice and accountability. The play follows the story of a young Zimbabwean student who died on a contested land that the local community recognises as a significant burial ground. Detective Khanyi Mohau, is torn between her roles as police officer, wife, daughter, and woman as she must decide who is responsible for the death of this student. Elizabeth Rankin, a consultant on the development of the contested land, must face the possibility that her silence made her complicit in both a murder and the erasure of a community’s ancestral ground.
Vakavigawa is a 75-minute production told through 3 different languages: English, Shona and a bit of IsiXhosa. The playscript is written in three different forms: live, digital, and sonic, which immerses the audience in different worlds through its live cinema approach.
With an almost all-female cast and crew, the production has been held together by the collaborative effort of each of its members as they piece together the final steps leading up to the production launch. “Expect something that is embracing being made because we are thinking of this as iteration one, we know how we want to continue grow, play and be curious about this piece” she said.
