Stage: Awash with new talent
One-man-show The Rain That Washes comes to Brighton’s Marlborough Theatre
Brighton Fringe is refreshingly packed with more and more real theatre and fewer and fewer jugglers – and hooray for that. This production, The Rain That Washes, is showing at Brighton’s small but perfectly formed Marlborough Theatre and has caught our eye at Latest 7.
Instantly plunged into a young man’s compelling story of growing up in turbulent Zimbabwe, we live and breathe his extraordinary and dramatic journey from innocence to escape, finally returning to his homeland to witness Mugabe’s greatest betrayal. Ashley Maynard enacts Christopher’s extraordinary story and the characters that he meets along the way in this warm, funny, and at times brutal and shocking play.
The Rain That Washes is inspired by Zimbabwean Christopher Maphosa’s true life story of leaving his country at 14 years old to join the revolution against white rule. Dave Carey, who first met Maphosa at Chickenshed more than 13 years ago, has dramatised their fascinating conversations creating a provocative, tense and dramatic story. The play is set in the early years of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe and offers fresh relevance in the face of the forthcoming elections this summer.
“It takes a very special talent to keep you agog to know how his journey will end, but that’s what Maynard does as he plays the many people encountered on the journey of a humble man trying to flee ravaged Zimbabwe. Maynard’s performance is a tour de force. I was spellbound,” says Dame Janet Suzman.
Industry reviews abound, too: “This extraordinary drama, performed by the utterly compelling Ashley Maynard is an outstanding example of how theatre can work, regardless of scale or budget. Thought provoking and challenging, if you have the chance to see this do not pass it by.” – What’s On Stage, January 2014 (5 stars).
“Pacy narrative and vivacious storytelling” – Evening Standard, August 2012 (4 stars).
Ashley Maynard (the actor in this one-man show) is a young actor who trained at Chickenshed and is now a member of the Company. Chickenshed is a theatre company that aims to create outstanding theatre that celebrates diversity and inspires positive change. They have regularly toured their ‘social documentary’ brand of work around the UK, including some of the hardest to reach communities, tackling pertinent social issues.
Christopher Maphosa, on whom the The Rain That Washes is based, grew up in Rhodesia and became part of the revolutionary force trying to overthrow the minority white regime of Ian Smith. He ran away to join ZAPU, who sent him to Bulgaria to be educated. Following persecution at the hands of Mugabe’s notorious Fifth Brigade from 1983-1987, Christopher became one of many Zimbabweans living in exile, arriving in the UK in 2000. Kieran Fay (director) trained with Jaques Lecoq in Paris. He has worked internationally as a theatre and film director. This is one standout small-scale production not to be missed this Fringe Festival season.
Chickenshed Theatre presents
The Rain That Washes, Marlborough Theatre, 4 Princes Street, Brighton, BN2 1RD
24, 25 & 26 May 2014, 6pm,
tickets £9/7. To book visit boxoffice.brightonfringe.org
or call 01273 917272
