Bulawayo theatre lovers got a chance to watch a different kind of family story yesterday when ,’The Empty Frame’ was staged, bringing together a father and son whose differences go beyond the future of a family business.

The play is a John Mabuyane Production, was written by Memory Kumbota and John Mabuyane and directed by Zenzo Nyathi. It follows a father who runs a traditional carpentry business and his technology-driven son, who has his own ideas about where the family business should go.
As the story develops, it becomes clear that the disagreement is not only about business. There is grief, family history and years of things left unsaid between the two.

Mabuyane told My Kasi Magazine in an interview,that the play looks at how parents and children can have different ideas about family legacy.

“The show explores the question of family legacy and what it means from the perspective of both the parents and the children,” he said.

The decision to use only two actors was also intentional.

“It asks us to sit in on a moment between a father and his son.

“It takes away all the pageantry and leaves us in a room where things could get really awkward really fast,”said Mabuyane.

The empty frame itself is left open to interpretation.

“The frame can be anything. It represents all the unanswered questions about family history and how it ties into the future,”said Mabuyane.

For Kumbota, the story came from the family issues people are dealing with around them.

“The topic of family dynamics hangs heavy in the air nowadays,” he said.

He further said the play looks at a son watching his father hold on to a business that has stopped giving back to him, while both men are trying to find what they believe is the right way forward.

The two-hander also gives the actors little room to hide.

Those who watched the play yesterday were impressed by the performances.

Mr Thabani Moyo who is behind the Central For Talent Developmen said that, apart from a brief lighting problem at the beginning, the show quickly settled and kept the audience interested.
“The dialogue was sharp and engaging, drawing every member of the audience into the unfolding drama,” he said.
“Every word felt purposeful, never wasted.”
The set was another highlight for Moyo, who said the workshop setting worked well with the story.

Theatre practitioner Raisedon Baya was also left thinking about the sacrifices parents make for their children.

“I watched a theatre show today. It made me realise what I have been missing. Good theatre. Good storytelling. The two actors held it together!” Baya said.

He felt the play could easily have been called The Great Sacrifice or The Great Silent Love because of the sacrifices parents make, often without their children fully understanding them.