New Sheffield play will put audience at heart of family implosion in January

A fascinating new Sheffield play puts the audience at the centre of a family implosion by exploring a community’s phenomenal divorce rates.

Kubulaya: Away From Home is based on research with sub-Saharan African women and men who migrated to the city. It is a microcosm of wider issues dividing society.

John Rwothomack, of Sheffield-based Roots Mbili Theatre, found that inequalities, shifting gender and identity roles, changes in community and faith all played a part in separations.

The Ugandan-born writer and director said: “The impetus for the show was noticing, over years, how many couples in my community divorced after migrating to the UK.

“During my research, I also spoke to a Sheffield pastor who said 98 per cent of the couples he counselled did not make it.

“There is clearly something remarkable happening in these families once they start navigating their new lives.”

The show’s debut performance, at Sheffield Theatres’ Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse on Wednesday, January 14, is a sharing of the first five scenes. Tickets cost from just £5 and are available on a pay-what-you-decide basis.

The story is set in Sheffield on Ntanda’s 17th birthday.  Her mum, Vera, is a busy nurse. Her dad, Nelson, is a care worker mourning his former life as a businessman and her older brother, Mulenga, is home from university.

Gifts are opened, and games are played until a shocking admission, which threatens to change all of their lives forever, is made.

Audience members become the unseen observers of what happens to the Zambian family, their strained bond, and ultimately, whether they will remain together.

Ugandan-born John added: “With this play, I’m not trying to find a solution to a problem; I am saying let’s talk about it.

“This phenomenon is happening because people want to better their lives, but do not understand what relocating truly means until they have done it.

“We are also looking at societal changes. Some 42 per cent of all marriages end in divorce, yet it is unsaid; nobody wants to talk about it.

“Hopefully, everyone who sees the show will feel seen. It resonates with people because it looks at a relationship which isn’t working any more – and no matter who you are, we have all known that.”

Kubulaya: Away From Home also features original music written by prominent Zambian musician James Sakala, which transitions the play from scene to scene in the style of an African storyteller.

Pioneering Roots Mbili Theatre specialises in platforming unheard stories and artists across different cultures. Earlier this year, it became a new associate company at Sheffield Theatres.

The final show will also have nine scenes, inspired by the nine wedding traditions of the Bemba culture in Zambia.

Kubulaya: Away From Home play at Sheffield Theatres Wed 14 Jan. Tickets are available here.