Jade Lewis, Assistant Director for The Convert shares her thoughts on rehearsals for this epic production set in 1896 Rhodesia.

For the last four weeks we have had such an awesome time rehearsing The Convert. The room has been full of research about colonial Zimbabwe, Shona experts, cookies, fruit and moringa tea.

With Christmas and New Years in the midst of our rehearsal process, we all had to juggle our family and work schedules to guarantee that this piece had every bit of attention it deserved. Of course, we still ended up sharing loads of family tales, chocolate and hugs even though we all just met!

We had visits from Chenjerai Shire, a Shona expert in language culture and history, who had one on one sessions with our actors to insure their tongue was reflective, respectful and honest.

No script is easy, however not many are in Shona! It is such a privilege to work on a piece of theatre that shows Southern Africa in a way that not many may expect. We hear a language that we have never heard before yet we totally understand it AND it’s being said in Victorian itier! Incredible! Rehearsal was a crash course in such a crucial moment in Zimbabwean history and The Convert is that and so much more…

The Convert has everything you need in a play. It’s full of fights, arguments, laughter and tears. What more do you need? Oh yeah and it has a fantastic cast.

The Convert runs from 12 January until 11 February. You can book your tickets here.