Tatenda's "Ten"
4 Feb 2025
Tatenda Shamiso is back working with BOV as the Associate Director on A Good House. He was also Associate Director for BOVs multi-award winning, (Nancy Medina-directed) Choir Boy so it's lovely to be able to welcome him back to Bristol for Nancy's second BOV production.
We thought it was worth grabbing ten minutes to ask him ten questions about A Good House and gather some wise words from the man himself. Pull up a chair...
1 What are your earliest memories of theatre?
I would say if theatre is live storytelling, meant to be delivered in person to your audience and make them feel something , then I'd say my first theatre experience happened in my home. Both my parents are active and dedicated storytellers - my mum more with anecdotes and my dad with bedtime stories. We would read stories together and he was really delivering on all the accents and voices and his narration was pretty dramatic! As soon as i learned to read he'd give me all the kid's lines in a story and he'd say all the adult's lines so it was a bit like making a little audio play every night.
Apart from that my earliest experience was when I was six and I was in a little summer school musical. That was my first time being around a theatre space and I fell in love instantly. I was a really shy kid until i got onstage and the rest is history I guess.
2 If you were to chat to your younger self what would you say?
I'd probably say:
"Yo kid, look! we did it! All of the stresses and the struggles and all the awkward difficult bits where you have no idea what you're doing are worth going through and we're going to get there. We're going to get to a place where we get to do exactly what we want every single day. So don't listen when people say "you're going to be a good lawyer" because this is really fun. But separately, please learn some financial literacy and learn how to do taxes.
3 What is the theatre scene like in Zimbabwe and Switzerland?
In Zimbabwe unfortunately, I can't say with confidence that there's a big and vibrant theatre scene, but in the diaspora there's so many amazing theatre-makers scattered all over the world. And we do have an amazing theatre festival in Zim where people come from all over the world and all over Africa and do amazing work. So that's very much worth while. I'd say most of the theatre in Zim is dedicated towards tourists while here we get to tell our own stories to each other, increasingly now for artists form the diaspora. But we should fix that!
In Switzerland, there are a lot of really exciting performance artists who come in and out of Switzerland from across Europe, but for me the largest live performance form I'm aware of in Switzerland is opera (not to say other things aren't there!)
4 Can you tell us a bit about A Good House?
A Good House is a phenomenal play that's about the cost of success where you're living in a world that's built on exploitation and dispossession. And the implications on self and community when you're residing on bloody soil. I know that makes it sound pretty serious but it's also an incredibly funny piece. Until it's not.. I love that about Amy Jephta's writing.
5 What do you find most rewarding about working on new plays? Is there anything different you need to consider compared to a "classic"?
I love working with new writing in general, but working with Amy's writing in particular is a special kind of treat. She's got razor-sharp dialogue skills and the work is so layered, nuanced and detailed.
When you're gifted such a beautiful new text that's never been seen by audiences, there can be a bit of pressure to be less independent with your imagination and just follow the dang stage directions. The playwright is in the room with you and knows what they meant when they wrote the words down, as opposed to directing a classic, where one often has a broader license to adapt, abridge and reshape the text without worrying about what the playwright is going to think of your interpretation.
But with Amy we had no such concerns! She is such a generous collaborator, always excited to push the text even in directions she hadn't imagined herself as she was writing. We had the incredible opportunity as a company to bring Amy's incisive, hilarious, ultra-relevant contemporary words to life with our own creative stamp on the work knowing that she trusted us to communicate her story and honour her creativity.
6 What have you learned from working on A Good House?
What HAVEN'T I learned! I've had such an immense privilege to work with Nancy medina for the second time now as her associate. She's just the most incredible director. I think largely aside from her technical skill and stage craft power, she also has the incredible ability to create the right atmosphere in a rehearsal room. From cast to crew to creatives, the working environment is so warm and loving. We laugh so much and we get so much done.
I think for me the big lesson as a director is that you don't need to buy into the notion that to make really good work or really high-brow work that you can't have a good time and need to be super-serious. Because in the most joyful moments, or the most collaborative moments, or the most wacky or whimsical moments, we found the real magic of this show and I really want to hold onto that moving forward.
7 What's the best thing about being an associate director?
Every day's a school day! You get to learn form the actors you're working with, you get to experience the entire team and get to be involved in the production meetings and planning and get to sit through the technical rehearsals and watch all the pieces of a production come together which I really find so magical. And being Nancy's associate in particular is just a damn good time!
As an early career person, as an associate you have the authority in the room to make offers and contribute you're genuine artistic taste and really participate in the making of the show. But at the same time you're protected - it's sort of an apprenticeship role. There's so much mentoring and so much learning about how the industry works. I always grow so much creatively when I'm working as an associate. Never knock it. It's so good.
8 Who is the person you'd like to see at A Good House Press Night?
I'd like Thandiwe Newton to see it because she's a very, very successful Southern African Zimbabwean queen.
I feel like if there's anyone in the public sphere who i would love to bring into this world it's her- and maybe this is hubris- but I think it would be a great gift to her too! (Plus she's also just amazing and I want to say hi)
9 Three reasons to see A Good House?
First: It's really good writing. The dialogue is sooo good. It's pacey the rhythm feels great and it really takes you on a beautiful journey.
Second: The design - Sounds so good, feels good and looks incredible ULTZ's design is gorgeous. The sensory experience of looking at what's on stage is a reason to go.
Third: This piece will touch absolutely everybody. It's set in South Africa but has such clear implications on audiences here in the UK too. For people from across the African Diaspora, or from all across the UK - we all have connections to the story we're telling here and it's a really important one to tell.
10 Apart from A Good House, what should we be excited for in 2025?
Looking forward to seeing Retrograde when it's on in the West End, Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet Yew at The Bush (great to see queer people of colour represented at The Bush).
I'm excited about Rhinoceros at the Almeida and specifically in Bristol - keep a look out for the fantastic immersive Bangers at BOV's Studio and Bull which is heading to the Tobacco Factory in early Feb. I mean we're spoilt! It's going to be a good year guys.
