New directions

Auckland-based playwright Stanley Makuwe, who is originally from Zimbabwe, recently returned to his homeland where his latest production The New Road premiered. The New Road tells the story of Sammy, a Zimbabwean who has spent 20 years enjoying the delights of life in the so-called First World, but who decides to return home. Disconnected from both his motherland and mother in Africa and unable to relate to his brother James, with whom he lives, Sammy finds himself facing the situation of many diasporans. Makuwe established Padare, a theatre group that seeks to bridge theatre between Africa and the Pacific. “This is the first African theatre group in New Zealand,” Makuwe said last year. A trained nurse, Makuwe arrived in New Zealand in 2002. He currently works at Middlemore Hospital.