Susan Humba 'Natasha', Yvonne Cherie 'Monalisa' with USA Actress Lady Toussaint Duchess

Neema played by Natasha with Mrs Lucy played
Lady Toussaint, in the play 'Mrs Lucy goes to
Africa' performed at the Natrional Museum
recently in Aug'

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While ‘street theatre’ known as ‘maigizo’ is common in Tanzania, though fading of recent due to television and film. The enacting of proper stage plays is a first for many experienced actors in the country, as was the case for the crew who acted in the stage play ‘Madame Lucy goes to Africa’. At the National Museum theatre hall in Dar es Salaam recently.

“After being in Dar for over three months, I couldn’t find any theatre… I then worked to partner with Clouds and Azam TV to bring dinner theatre to the city. Dinner theatre is interesting entertainment because it’s instant, the audience responds to the characters immediately. It’s very different from television and film and I know y’all stay in a lot watching television and bongo movies. My goal was to get the family out...it’s really something missing out here.”-Lady Toussaint Duchess Campbell

Actress Yvonne Cherrie a.k.a Monalisa 
(left) with herhusband in the play 
'Dr Peter, as he introduces Mrs Lucy
to his wife 'Regina' & family

Mrs. Lucy Goes to Africa is a production of Toussaint Duchess Entertainment (TDE), lead by actress & executive producer Lady Toussaint. She is from USA, a Graduate from the prestigious Margie Haber Studios, the same top acting school that graduated Halle Berry, Brad Pitt, Tom Arnold, and Heather Locklear.

With over 25 years in the entertainment business in USA, she has worked with some of the industry’s most respected stage producer writers and directors; including Debbie Allen, Robi Reed, Tracey & Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds as well David E. Talbert. She’s prominently featured in the lifetime movie with Fantasia Barrino, “Life Is Not a Fairytale”; in the Tyler Perry stage play ‘Woman thou art loosed” an adaptation of Bishop T.D. Jakes self-help novel and in Fred Hammonds play to DVD movie ‘Christmas…who needs it?’. 

The tentative welcome of Mrs Lucy 
into Neema's homefrom left the 
characters Mrs Lucy, Joseph, 
Happiness, Neema
and Rose

Currently she’s in Tanzania with her husband, with her experience in theatre she saw a gap in the market and sought to fill it. 

“I was really pleased with the whole production crew. I’m used to plays where we just up & go, one is the director the same person is doing everything else, like lighting and such. But here we had order, there was someone doing lights, a director, stage manager, so you see everyone had their specific roles to play.

Of course it’s not that our local production crews don’t know to work like this, but many times the budget is not fitting. I was happy in this crew, life was easy for me all I had to do was concentrate on my craft.”- Acclaimed actress Susan Humba a.k.a Natasha from Tanzania who was one of the lead actors in this play, a comedy drama ‘Madame Lucy Goes to Africa.’

Neema gets a visit from her 
son Dr Peterwith his wife 
Regina while she's in
hospital in the play at
the National Museum in Dar

With the debut of ‘Madam Lucy Goes to Africa’, at the National Museum theatre hall in Dar on August 14th a new forum for dinner theatre is launched titled ‘Souper Soul Sunday’.The turnout was pretty good for a debut performance, fetching the somewhat steep price of USD40/80,000Tshs. Then again with the presence of lead actresses Natasha and her daughter Yvonne Cherrie a.k.a Monalisa many of the middle class and upper Tanzanians gave it a shot.

For as Lady Toussaint emphasized, it’s something missing in the market. The production for this debut performance ticked a lot of boxes in terms of stage etiquette and delivery bearing in mind most of the crew had never participated in a professional stage play before.

A scene at the market with from left Neema, Rose, 
Joseph and Mrs Lucy and
an extra in the play Mrs Lucy goes to Africa

“The artists on the show are all Tanzanian, and they were all really excited about live theatre. We taught them stage etiquette…I told them it’s like a rhythm once you know how to move you know how to dance, how to walk on stage. You know to say your lines without having your back to the audience; you know what I mean…

When I watched the reel later it really, really made me feel good, to know it’s something they took seriously. You see it’s not just acting with live theatre, it’s all about your movement, it’s your hair, your jewellery, your fans, I mean it’s major when it comes to live theatre.”-Lady Toussaint Duchess

The play is part of a sequence so it ends in suspense. “We’re looking to perform the first episode again in October or November this year, after which it’ll air on TV. Next year hopefully in February we’ll be looking to show the second episode. With ‘Souper Soul Sunday’, we’re looking to showcase a stage production every 2 or three months for starts.”-Sharlyn Kristine Mthethwa, stage manager and part of TDE.

Audiences at the lauch of the dinner theatre
'Souper Soul Sunda' at the National museum grounds in Dar es Salaam

   

From left Grace (played by Carrie Matiku),
Samwel  (played by Stephen Mwingeni)
and 'Mrs Lucy' at the airport scene

The Security Guard and alleged
Russian Supy do a comic song & dance in the play

Finally Neema catches up with her friend
Mrs Lucy at the airport

From left Neema, Happiness, Mrs Lucy, Regina and
Dr Peter all characters in the play
where Mrs Lucy is received at home

Rose (right( singing hauntingly on stage
with Winnie in the background
within the play 'Madame Lucy goes to Africa'

Madam Lucy protecting herself from 'mosquitoes'
ready to go the market
now that she's in Africa

The characters Mrs Lucy (left) with Happiness
during the play Mrs Lucy goes to Africa
at the N Museum recently in Dar

The actors take a bow at the end of the play
Mrs Lucy goes to Africa in Dar recently

The characters, Baraka  the Gardner (right) trying to entertain Winnie the house maid