A moment of your time if I may ....
Dear Friends
Some of you will know that I am working as Producer on a new play called Yours Abundantly, From Zimbabwe by Gillian Plowman performing at the Oval House Theatre, London in October. It is a very exciting thing, woking on this wonderful play, especially as it is such a timely piece of theatre.
A description of the play from the theatre brochure says:
"For the last eight years, foreign journalists have been banned from Zimbabwe. For the last eight years, orphaned Zimbabwean children have written to the playwright Gillian Plowman.
Inspired by these funny, quirky, joyful, sad and often poetic letters, Yours Abundantly, from Zimbabwe tells the story of Nell, a white British woman who travels to Zimbabwe on holiday and meets a young orphan boy named Enock. The subsequent correspondence between the two of them and later his headmaster, Boniface, and others from his school, forms the basis of this poignant and heartbreaking tale.
As the growing love and understanding between Nell and Boniface and the Zimbabwean children replace the loss of her relationships with her own husband and children, Nell finds herself with a lifetime decision to make."
There are many issues which the play examines, one is the harsh reality of daily survival in Zimbabwe, a distant tragedy made real and humanised by this production. However, the play also takes a hard look at the questions of global responsibility and post colonialism, examining the rights and responsiblities of Western philanthropy and it's impact on former colonies.
We begin rehearsals on the 1st of September and our first public performance is Tuesday 30th September. We have a cast of eight characters, two white British women and six Black Zimbabweans villagers. The depth of talent we have secured both in the cast and in the creative team which includes Co-Directors Annie Castledine (former artistic director of the Derby Playhouse) and Ben Evans (Head of Theatre Programming at Oval House) is huge, and it is such a priviledge to work with such hugely talented people.
So here we come to the rub.
Part of the duties for a Producer is to secure funds for the project and we have worked very hard and have so very nearly succeeded in reaching our target. We have been successful in applying for funding from the Arts Council of England, the Unity Theatre Trust, The Royal Victorial Hall Foundation and a number of other private sponsors. However we are still £6,000 short of our target and with time marching on, the quest for funding becomes more crucial.
So why am I telling you all this? Well I am hoping that you dear friends might have some ideas of where I might find these extra funds. That you might know someone who would be interested in ensuring this play makes it to the stage or perhaps your company could benefit from sponsoring the production and gaining publicity in return. We have tried reaching out to companies from a Corporate Social Reponsibility angle, but with the credit cruch biting, without a personal contact within a company our appeals for help fall on deaf ears. I must be honest with you however and say that other than the warm glow of satisfaction, of knowing you have helped us get to the production day and possibly getting publicity for doing so, there is no financial return available as this is not commercial theatre. However, this is a story that I believe is an important one, that will make people think, and can play an important part in the ongoing debate that surrounds Zimbabwe.
We have come so far in the two years it has taken us to get to this point and it would be such a tragedy to fall at this last step. I realise this is not a very British thing to do, but hey I'm Australian so I figure I can get away with it if I smile and shrug in an innocent and appealing fashion.
If you are able to help or point me in the direction of someone who could, that would be very much appreciated. If you are not, your warm wishes and thoughts will help too. I am quite serious about this, and I would not ask if I did not believe whole heartedly in this project.
If you do not feel comfortable responding directly to this livejournal entry, which I can understand, then please do write to me at fallen_angel_97 at hotmail dot com and I would be more than happy to speak with you from there.
Thank you for your time and I pray I have caused not offence.
Best wishes
Sarah