Zimbabwe will this year host the first-ever Africa Voices Now (AVN) Festival, a new platform celebrating original African plays, music and artistic expression. The event is set for 18 October to 8 November 2025 at the Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre in Harare.
Organisers say the festival is the culmination of a year of training, writing retreats and workshops by Almasi Arts, the Zimbabwean-American organisation co-founded by actor and playwright Danai Gurira.
It will debut fresh works including Can We Talk by Batsirai Chigama, The Return by Rudo Mutangadura, and These Humans Are Sick by Tatenda Mutyambizi.
Beyond the stage, the festival will feature a wider celebration of African creativity, with dance, performance and cross-disciplinary collaborations expected to energise the programme.
Momentum toward the launch is already building. On 20 September 2025, acclaimed American actor Peter Francis James will lead an acting showcase at the Zimbabwe German Society.
James, who has won awards including two Obies and the Drama Desk Award, joins a lineup of international artists who have engaged with Zimbabwean talent this year, among them Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and Tony Award-winning director Emily Mann.
“This festival is a thrilling new chapter of African storytelling,” Gurira said in a statement, adding that the event aims to spotlight bold, original voices from the continent.
The full schedule and ticket details will be released in the coming weeks.