The Zimbabwean
By Kundai Marunya
5 December 2012
Renowned actor, theatre guru and playwright Walter Mparutsa, who died in April, has been honoured by Rooftop Promotions.
A bust of the actor by sculptor Chenjerai Mutasa was unveiled at Theatre in the Park last week at the premiere of “Protestâ€. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Education Sport and Culture David Coltart, Mayor of Harare Muchadeyi Masunda, members of the diplomatic corps and Mparutsa’s family.
“Mparutsa was a staunch advocate for artistic freedom and democracy who died aged 72 after a brave fight with cancer,†said Rooftops PRO LesleyMoyo.
He began his acting career way back in the late 1960s when he founded the Chiedza Drama Club in the then Harare (now Mbare).
Around the same period, he also founded and chaired the Anglican Young Peoples Association at St. Michaels in Mbare, which staged religious plays. He adapted plays from Shona novels and wrote scripts, rehearsed, directed and toured plays around greater Harare.
In the 1980s he won the award for Best Actor in the National Winterfest Theatre Festival for his role in Athol Fugard’s Nongogo, as adjudicated by RADA Theatre Practitioners from the UK. In 1983 he shared the Best Actor Award with stage compatriot Dominic Kanaventi in Andrew Whaley’s play Platform Four.