Playwright Fraser Grace talks about his new play Breakfast with Mugabe
What inspired you to write your play Breakfast with Mugabe?
The play had a long gestation period and although it was inspired by a piece of journalism, it is definitely not a journalistic play!
I had been thinking a lot about African politics in general when I came across the article in the Sunday Times in 2001 which said that Robert Mugabe was being treated for depression by a psychiatrist. I then saw a focus and framework for writing a play about these issues. I was also curious and intrigued about Mugabe and why it was that he is so vilified in the west but still seemed so popular in general in Africa. The play kind of distilled all of that for me.
When you started writing the play, did you encounter any difficulties including these issues into a dramatic framework?
When Paul Sirett commissioned the play, I started with the first draft trying to open out the story so we saw events in Zimbabwe which were then juxtaposed with events within Mugabe’s State House. I guess I had been brought up to write in the ‘show don’t tell’ style so originally if there was an event in the town or hospital for example, there would be a whole scene set there! It was then a process of drawing back to the original focus of what happens within the State House and just referring to the wider events on the farms or towns or whatever, not having to actually see everything. Dominic Cooke (RSC Associate Director and Director of the New Work Festival) and I discussed this and worked on the drafts until the play was much more focused.
What would you say to people that ask why a white Englishman living in Cambridge should write a play concerning an African country to which he has never been?
For me, part of the challenge of writing plays has always been to enter worlds I know nothing about, but which fascinate me. As a dramatist, I think that actually gives you certain advantages. I’ve always felt too that we have a moral obligation to engage with things we might be ignorant about, but which are shaping the world around us. Put another way, the role of the playwright is to ask questions – you cannot divest yourself of all responsibility of looking at areas just because you are not overly familiar with them. More practically, I was also amazed, and maybe slightly outraged, that no one else – from whatever country or background – was writing much for the stage about the incredible things currently happening in Zimbabwe. I felt it deserved some attention, not least because it has a much wider application. The play is about people with power; a president, his wife, a bodyguard and a psychiatrist – about what they choose to do with the power they have, and why. That’s meat for any dramatist.
With the recent controversial events taking place in Zimbabwe, do you feel tempted to tinker with the original play to keep it up to date?
There was a time when I did wrestle with the decision to update the play to encapsulate recent events, but I think I made the right decision not to change anything. The play is in part about the forces that made Robert Mugabe the way he is, so although recent developments have continued and changed, they are actually still directly related to the way Mugabe’s mind works and how he reacts to opposition. Mugabe coined the name Gukurahundi for his operation to wipe out ‘dissidents’ in Matebeleland in the mid 80s – an operation in which thousands of people were killed. The name means ‘the rain that clears away the chaff’ - a strikingly similar phrase to the name given to the very latest clearances, Murambatsvina, which means ‘clearing away the trash’. Twenty years apart, but the same image. I think that speaks for itself.
Have any Zimbabweans read the play and have you had any feedback from them?
I’ve had conversations about the play with several Zimbabweans, some of whom knew Mugabe in the early days, during the liberation struggle. I’m also in contact with people living in Zimbabwe now, and of course, some of the Zimbabweans – black and white – who are now in exile in London. Some of these have read chunks of the play, and one or two have read all of it. One mixed-race Zimbabwean came to the reading we did in Newcastle last year. He had only left the country two weeks previously so I think he only came because he was homesick, but he said he was expecting a tirade of anti Mugabe rhetoric and was surprised that the play looked beyond that. I think if you simply label someone a monster, it’s a great way of ducking responsibility. You don’t have to think about what made them like that. I think this play helps us examine the actions of our own country in the context of Zimbabwe’s current situation, and how the British find Mugabe quite comforting in a perverse way – he’s a convenient stereotype.
Robert Mugabe is a man, with all the complexity that implies, and there are a lot of unanswered questions about him, as about Zimbabwe’s recent history. I hope this play helps fill that gap – with genuine drama.
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Antony Sher, the director of Breakfast with Mugabe talks about his debut as a director
You are best known as an actor and as a writer. Is this the first time that you have directed a play?
Yes, I’ve never directed before, and I’m really enjoying it. My first day of rehearsal was really nerve-wracking. But Greg (Gregory Doran, RSC Associate Director and Antony’s partner) was really helpful. I was trying to solve a problem, and spoke to Greg, and he had an instant solution. It’s brilliant having someone so talented on hand.
What was your first reaction when you read the play?
I was gripped. It was original and authentic, a real page-turner. I didn’t know Fraser Grace, and assumed that he was a black writer, and was surprised when I met him that he was a small chap from Cambridge.
What do you think of Robert Mugabe?
He grips me. I can’t stop watching him. He is more mesmeric, the worse he behaves. In the play, Fraser has shown the complexity beneath the monster, as well as his pain and his suffering. If the play works well, the audience should feel some compassion for him. I believe that this play provides a very intelligent debate rather than just portraying a monster.
You were born in South Africa. Has the fact that you are African helped in the direction of this play?
Yes, having a knowledge and being immersed in the politics of the region has really helped. It makes me particularly fascinated by the subject matter.
Tell me something about the music, which is written by Chartwell Dutiro.
Chartwell is a Zimbabwean musician, and is composing the music for the play. It’s fantastic to have someone from the country in the company, and his presence means we can tap into his knowledge and experience. He believes that the issues in Zimbabwe are much more complex than they are portrayed in the press.
This is the first time that Chartwell has worked with the RSC, and indeed theatre. He plays an instrument called a mbira – an African thumb piano. He will be performing on stage, and backstage alongside Jimmy Jones, one of the RSC’s talented percussionists.
How are you dealing with the company speaking in Zimbabwean accents?
This is the part when I’m really pleased to be the director and not an actor. As well as dealing with the accent, some of the company have to speak in Shona, a Zimbabwean language. This they have to learn phonetically. We are extremely lucky to have a South African born Head of Voice in Lyn Darnley. She arranged for a Zimbabwean voice coach to come into rehearsals for one day and work with the company.
