Harare - Almasi Collaborative Arts, Zimbabwe’s leading dramatic arts organisation, has announced the 2026 edition of Africa Voices Now, its annual festival of new African plays.
Set for Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre in Harare, the festival will be running from 17 October to 6 November 2026.
The plays gracing the stage this year will be:
30 Acres by Tatenda Mutyambizi, directed by 2017 Walter Muparutsa Fellow Gideon J. Wabvuta
Synopsis: Tete Getty, a UK returnee seeking a peaceful retirement in her village, finds herself at the centre of a battle between a large corporation and the local community. Will she preserve her family's legacy, or is the cost of fighting corporate exploitation higher than loyalties to ancestral inheritance?
Shards by Cynthia Marangwanda, directed by 2015 Walter Muparutsa Fellow Tafadzwa Bob Mutumbi
Synopsis: Mhepo is a literary star on the rise with a debut novel about to launch, a prestigious prize nomination, and a doting father who supports her work. But when a character escapes the page to haunt her, Mhepo is plunged into an existential crisis. Must she sacrifice her long-held ambitions to save her soul?
Quixotic by Tawanda Josh Vombo, directed by Tadziyana David Bvumbe
Synopsis: An aspiring Zim Dancehall star, 2 Raw thinks he has his life figured out: he has a loving partner, a baby on the way, and a music competition that promises a bright future. However, his mentor Bhema faces a crisis when his estranged biological son, 2 Raw’s ex best friend, returns from prison. Caught between his father figure and this interloper, 2 Raw must decide what he is willing to risk.
Together, the three works offer a vivid and wide-ranging portrait of contemporary Zimbabwean life from land, legacy, existential crisis and youth culture.
“I am thrilled for our lineup of plays for Africa Voices Now 2026. We at Almasi continue to pour into local talent and the fruits of the labour have never been more evident. These writers are bringing to the audience a fresh, new, insightful and incisive look at the stories of our people," shared Almasi’s Creative Director, Danai Gurira.
Built over more than 14 years of intentional and rigorous developmental work, Almasi Collaborative Arts has become one of the clearest arguments for why Zimbabwe’s leading dramatic arts deserve structural support. Its work has focused on professionalising the sector through training, mentorship, global access, and meaningful artistic opportunities.
Co-founded in 2011 by Zimbabwean-American actress and playwright Danai Gurira, the organisation has trained more than 250 African artists, developed 31 new African plays, facilitated international fellowships and Masters Degree pathways for Zimbabwean artists, and created year-round artistic employment for performers, writers, technicians, and crew.
The 2026 announcement follows the breakthrough public success of the inaugural Africa Voices Now Festival in 2025, which brought Almasi’s long-standing developmental work into the public eye and earned two prestigious National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA): Outstanding Director for Leonard Matsa’s direction of Can We Talk? by NAMA Award-winning poet Batsirai Chigama and Outstanding Playwright for Tatenda Mutyambizi’s These Humans Are Sick.
The first edition of the festival also demonstrated real audience demand, with sold-out performances at the 60-seat Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre and an additional showing of Can We Talk? added to meet demand. Can We Talk? is now in planning for a New York production at the prestigious Public Theatre.
This year’s edition will present 3 brand new Zimbabwean plays in rotation, offering audiences a first look at original work that will undoubtedly become part of the year’s wider cultural conversation.
The plays gracing the stage this year will be:
30 Acres by Tatenda Mutyambizi, directed by 2017 Walter Muparutsa Fellow Gideon J. Wabvuta
Synopsis: Tete Getty, a UK returnee seeking a peaceful retirement in her village, finds herself at the centre of a battle between a large corporation and the local community. Will she preserve her family's legacy, or is the cost of fighting corporate exploitation higher than loyalties to ancestral inheritance?
Shards by Cynthia Marangwanda, directed by 2015 Walter Muparutsa Fellow Tafadzwa Bob Mutumbi
Synopsis: Mhepo is a literary star on the rise with a debut novel about to launch, a prestigious prize nomination, and a doting father who supports her work. But when a character escapes the page to haunt her, Mhepo is plunged into an existential crisis. Must she sacrifice her long-held ambitions to save her soul?
Quixotic by Tawanda Josh Vombo, directed by Tadziyana David Bvumbe
Synopsis: An aspiring Zim Dancehall star, 2 Raw thinks he has his life figured out: he has a loving partner, a baby on the way, and a music competition that promises a bright future. However, his mentor Bhema faces a crisis when his estranged biological son, 2 Raw’s ex best friend, returns from prison. Caught between his father figure and this interloper, 2 Raw must decide what he is willing to risk.
Together, the three works offer a vivid and wide-ranging portrait of contemporary Zimbabwean life from land, legacy, existential crisis and youth culture.
“I am thrilled for our lineup of plays for Africa Voices Now 2026. We at Almasi continue to pour into local talent and the fruits of the labour have never been more evident. These writers are bringing to the audience a fresh, new, insightful and incisive look at the stories of our people," shared Almasi’s Creative Director, Danai Gurira.
Built over more than 14 years of intentional and rigorous developmental work, Almasi Collaborative Arts has become one of the clearest arguments for why Zimbabwe’s leading dramatic arts deserve structural support. Its work has focused on professionalising the sector through training, mentorship, global access, and meaningful artistic opportunities.
Co-founded in 2011 by Zimbabwean-American actress and playwright Danai Gurira, the organisation has trained more than 250 African artists, developed 31 new African plays, facilitated international fellowships and Masters Degree pathways for Zimbabwean artists, and created year-round artistic employment for performers, writers, technicians, and crew.
The 2026 announcement follows the breakthrough public success of the inaugural Africa Voices Now Festival in 2025, which brought Almasi’s long-standing developmental work into the public eye and earned two prestigious National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA): Outstanding Director for Leonard Matsa’s direction of Can We Talk? by NAMA Award-winning poet Batsirai Chigama and Outstanding Playwright for Tatenda Mutyambizi’s These Humans Are Sick.
The first edition of the festival also demonstrated real audience demand, with sold-out performances at the 60-seat Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre and an additional showing of Can We Talk? added to meet demand. Can We Talk? is now in planning for a New York production at the prestigious Public Theatre.