Satire too close to the bone for Zimbabwe government

Satire too close to the bone for Zimbabwe government

THOMAS Mapfumo, Zimbabwe's leading music superstar has had songs banned from state radio because of lyrics seen critical of President Mugabe's regime

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By Agencies

A THEATRE company in Zimbabwe has been banned from performing a satirical play that deals with political issues, believed to be hitting too close to home, its producer said on Monday.

The company, Rooftop Promotions, said it was due to go on a nationwide tour in June with the play, Super Patriots and Morons, which dramatises life in an unnamed African country under an iron-fisted dictator.

Although the play did not name Zimbabwe, it dealt with issues such as fuel queues and food shortages, some of the problems Zimbabweans encounter in real life.

However, Zimbabwe's Censorship Board rejected the play after reviewing the scriptt, Daves Guzha, a producer with Rooftop Promotions, told a press conference.

He said his company had been notified of the censorship board's decision on Friday, but that no explanation was given.

The play, which shows a government intent on silencing dissent, was recently staged at the country's Harare International Festival of the Arts. It was previously staged here in May 2003, but was not censored at the time.

"We see Patriots and Morons as nothing else than a comedy of errors," Guzha said. "When you have a society that has no capacity to laugh at its own follies and problems -- then you are in serious trouble."

Zimbabwe has a history of banning critical music from the airwaves, including songs by Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo - Sapa
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