African adventure

This month Roy Barber takes up a new post as Director of The Theatre In The Park in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Roy, who has taught budding actors at the West Timperley campus for the past six years, heard about the vacancy through Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

A firm believer in the theory that people who stay in the same job too long can become stale, he felt the time was right for a new challenge.

He'll spend the next 12 months doing everything from directing plays to auditioning the actors.

His new place of work is renowned for staging works which tackle social issues.

"You won't see 42nd Street there and you won't see pantomimes starring Darren Day. It tends to do small scale plays which deal with the issues of the day. The big issues are obviously the elections and the changing political situation but AIDS is a big issue and so is the changing role of women in society", says the 37 year old.

The theatre is the centre of a thriving artistic community which has as its members musicians, poets and storytellers. What the city doesn't have is some of the amenities we take for granted. For instance, Roy will be sharing living accommodation which has a regular supply of running water and electricity. The VSO blurb has told him he is one of the lucky ones.

Is he apprehensive about working in a country which has seen so much political unrest?

"Obviously my friends and family think I'm crazy for doing this kind of thing. But anybody like myself who is interested in theatre and what it can do will realise its exactly the right place to be", he says.