In 2022, Lloyd Lutara’s play The Rope premiered at Alliance Francaise de Kampala; it was a great moment for a play to go through the whole process of workshopping to the stage.
Directed by Kaya Kagimu Mukasa, the show was produced by Deborah Asiimwe who put together a stellar cast for the two weekend shows at Alliance Francaise and Ndere Cultural Centre. But for many theatre shows that take themselves seriously, staging at the National Theatre is almost a given and probably it explains why for the producers of these shows, Rope coming to the National Theatre may be a big deal.
The Rope is an investigative drama trying to uncover a mystery, to put it right, it follows the intricate stories of Ezekiel, Linda, and Desmond.
Ezekiel, a wealthy businessman, is concerned about his missing daughter Linda. He recounts speaking to Linda’s sister Constance, who said Linda did not return home after a fellowship meeting the previous night. Ezekiel also spoke to Linda’s husband Desmond, who had not seen or heard from Linda since the morning before. Ezekiel is skeptical of Desmond and believes the concept of hard work is foreign to him. Ezekiel suspects foul play may be involved in Linda’s disappearance.
Lloyd Lutara’s works are not new to the National Theatre audience having opened the Kampala International Theatre Festival with The Green Line at the Horizon in 2024; the play is about one man’s battle with mental health, inner voices, recovery and relapse.
With Rope, Lutara says that he uses the play to explore a number of things; “I am using it to explore toxic masculinity, gender roles, sexual repression and class. In terms of form, it’s an experiment to see how I can take a single piece and present it across multiple platforms with minimal or no adaptation. So it will be presented as a theatre piece, a web series, a feature film and an audio series.”
When the curtains go up at the National Theatre next week, the audience will be treated to yet another stellar cast that includes theatre gems such as Charles Mulekwa, Esteri Tebandeke, Brendah Ibarah and Eronie Bazongere among others; Kaya Kagimu Mukasa takes on the directorial mantle on this one too and she is also joined by Andrew Ssebaggala to produce it.
Staging the production at the time is a big deal for the National Theatre because of the themes it represents and the vision behind it. For instance, for an industry with celebrated female theatre producers and directors, it is very important that a production by Kaya Kagimu Mukasa, one of the most celebrated female thespians is premiering, in March, a month known to celebrate women.
But also World Theatre Day falls on March 27, the play coming at about this time gives people a chance to celebrate the day with an actual production.
The Rope is a collaboration between Arts Treasure Uganda and House of Talent East Africa. The play premieres at the National Theatre on Friday March 21.
