Cameron Rhodes and Simbarashe Matshe in Black Lover, the play which brings an extraordinary New Zealand story to the local stage. Photo / Andi Crown Photography
Stanley Makuwe's Auckland Theatre Company playwriting debut Black Lover is a landmark event — both for audiences to witness the storytelling skills of a local black playwright and also, as a first for our flagship company.
It's a well-written drama that follows the interactions between former Rhodesian Prime Minister, Garfield
Todd and his loyal cook Steady.
From Invercargill, Todd was a church missionary at the Dadaya Mission in Southern Rhodesia who became involved in politics and was elected to Parliament in 1946. Seven years later, he became Prime Minister of a country with a small but powerful white minority and an increasingly dissatisfied larger black population. His liberal politics to extend the right to vote to all Zimbabweans resulted his house-arrest at the family ranch, Hokonui, in Zvishavane.
It is into this turbulent moment of a nation on its edge that Makuwe launches his story— and he does it with care and finesse. Veteran actor Cameron Rhodes plays Todd magnificently with quiet and dignified resignation and brings a range of emotion to his character.
He is well-matched by his younger, but equally passionate co-star Simbarashe Matshe, who plays the role of the family cook, Steady. The younger man's portrait of the unwavering devoted employee is also accompanied by a resistance to accept complete authority and this saves his character from becoming cliched.
