Story by Tichaona Kurewa
PLAYERS in the tourism capital of Victoria Falls have brought a new dimension to the tourism package after adding stage theatre on the bucket list.
Stage theatre productions were largely a preserve of large cities such as Bulawayo and Harare, attracting a considerable following.
This, however, is set to change with tourism players in Victoria Falls, Three Monkeys and Shearwater Adventures teaming up to set up a stage theatre production in Victoria Falls dubbed, “Simunye”.
“This is excellent, this will certainly increase the tourist nights in Victoria Falls. It is a new product indeed, we enjoyed the first performance, we watched African culture on stage tonight, we are happy. This should attract more tourists into this city,” said a Victoria Falls resident.
Simunye and tourist companies agree that stage theatre will put Victoria Falls on the global map.
“Simunye is a story of love, marriage and other aspects of Zimbabwean culture. We want visitors here to experience the Africans culture on stage. This is a good start for Victoria Falls, we have created over forty jobs through this production and some of the cast members are from this resort city,” noted Simunye Production Manager, Mr Tariro Mushonga.
Shearwater, Spokesperson, Mr Clement Mukwasi said, “Tourism players are always on the forefront in introducing activities in this city, we have done it again. We realised that visitors were becoming used to the existing activities such as boat cruise and game drive. This is a new entrant on the tourists’ bucket list, and it helps in marketing this city to the world. We have no doubt that this production will open more avenues for the cast crew as they will also be exposed to international theatre production, soon will be exporting the artists.”
Apart from flora and fauna, culture is one of the reasons visitors explore any destination hence Simunye is expected to fulfill this dream.
