Lloyd Lutara’s Rope will be at the Uganda National Theatre this March under the theme ‘Celebrating Women and Theatre’. March is popularly known as Women’s month all over the world. However, it is also the month when we celebrate theatre on the 27th.
This year, Arts Treasure Uganda in partnership with House of Talent, are bringing the play Rope. The monologue driven ‘whodunit’ is directed by Kaya Kagimu Mukasa and features a talented cast led by Esteri Tebandeke (Queen of Katwe, Imperial Blue), Charles Mulekwa, Eronie Bazongere Nalongo (Silent Voices, Kigenya Agenya) and others.
See also: Emelda Ngufor Samba: Scholar and Face of Theatre Arts in Cameroon
Rope follows Linda (Esteri Tebandeke), the daughter of one of Kampala’s premiere real estate kings, who goes missing after attending fellowship one fateful Wednesday evening. A high profile investigation is opened to find her and the closest people to her are brought in for questioning – her father (Charles Mulekwa), her husband (Allan Samuel Mwanja), the pimp (Eronie Bazongere Nalongo) and more. Each person’s testimony leads to the questioning of the next one and reveals a little more about Linda and her life. The contradicting stories make the audience, who is placed in the investigator’s chair, to sift through the different testimonies to determine who’s lying, who’s telling the truth, about what and why.
Theatre has always been a big part of Ugandan women’s storytelling and a way to share their truths and reclaim their voices. Women in Uganda have always played important roles in both traditional and modern theatre starting with being carriers of oral tradition, actors, and are now increasingly taking on more roles as playwrights, directors and producers. Women like Asiimwe Deborah Kawe who wrote Cooking Oil (2010), Angella Emurwon the playwright of Strings (2017) Adong Judith, Mariam Nagire, and Kaya Kagimu Mukasa the director of Rope (2022, 2025) have contributed greatly to the theatre landscape in Uganda over the past years.
See also: The Women Making Waves in Theatre in Africa Part 2
These roles enable them to tell their stories in their own way and control their narratives as opposed to having their lives dictated by the perspectives and opinions of others. In this modern era of social media and virality, phrases like ‘Believe Women’ and ‘Platform Women’ are circulated in attempt to demonstrate the support of women but do we really care about women’s versions of events or is it just a front to appear progressive and be part of the conversation in the moment?
Rope, dives into what happens when a woman’s story is told through the conflicting testimonies of the people in her life and not through her own lived experience. Is Linda’s story really hers or is it constructed by those around her? The play further challenges the perceptions of women’s lives, urgency and identity.
If you are curious to piece together the puzzles in the mystery that is Rope, look out for the premiere happening on the 21st of March at the Uganda National Theatre at 7pm. Rope by Lloyd Lutara is produced by Andrew SSsebagala and directed by Kaya Kagimu Mukasa with set design by Michael Wawuyo (Snr) and lights by Mubiru Alex. The play will also be running for the last two weekends of March with two showings per day. Come and let’s celebrate women and theatre.
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