Almasi Collaborative Arts will launch its 2026 season with a free public staged reading of Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark play A Raisin in the Sun, bringing one of the most influential works in American theater to audiences in Harare.
The performance is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. at the Friendship Bench Hub.
Directed by Leonard Matsa, the reading features a mix of longtime Almasi collaborators and emerging performers, including Daniel Nkumalo, Evita Mahachi, Deborah Kabongo, Charlene Mangweni-Furusa, Godblessus Dhliwayo, Chiedza Matabuka, Ronald Sigeca, Aaron Dobi, Clive Jonga and Michael Kudakwashe.
The event marks the return of Almasi’s signature staged reading program, which emphasizes close textual analysis and actor training as foundations of performance.
Ahead of the public presentation, the cast and director will take part in a two-day dramaturgical workshop led by Gideon Jeph Wabvuta, the organization’s programs director.
The intensive session brings together actors, directors and playwrights to dissect the script’s structure and themes before rehearsals begin.
Matsa described Hansberry’s 1959 play as “timeless and universally relevant,” noting that its exploration of class struggle and deferred dreams continues to resonate.
“In the midst of overwhelming adversities, including class struggles, hope is all we have and need,” he said. “It is the fuel that drives existence. And when all seems lost, our integrity is our last line of salvation.”
A Raisin in the Sun follows a Black family on Chicago’s South Side as they await an insurance payout that could change their lives. The play confronts housing discrimination, racism and generational conflict, and takes its title from Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem.”
It was the first play by a Black woman to be staged on Broadway and was named best play of 1959 by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle.
For Almasi, the reading sets the tone for a year of ambitious programming focused on craft development and international collaboration.
Wabvuta said opening the season with Hansberry’s work reflects the organization’s commitment to artistic rigor.
“By establishing this strong foundational start to the year with one of the greatest plays ever written, we are setting a clear frame through which excellence, professionalism and authentic artistic expression will be nurtured,” he said.
The 2026 calendar will also include a stage management and directing workshop led by visiting American artist Adam Immerwahr; a voice and acting workshop with Scott Miller of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; a filmmaker intensive with a yet-to-be-announced guest; and Africa Voices Now!, a festival of new plays scheduled for October and November.
The year will conclude with the Almasi African Writers Conference, now expanded to include screenwriters.
Founded in Harare and co-led by actor and playwright Danai Gurira as executive artistic director, Almasi Collaborative Arts aims to promote dramatic literacy and expand opportunities for African creatives.
Through training programs and public performances, the organization seeks to connect local artists with global stages.
The staged reading of A Raisin in the Sun is free and open to the public.
Share Your Comments