Theatre in the Park will open its 2012 theatre calendar this week with an exhilarating play titled "The Coup" written by Zimbabwean playwright Stanley Makuwe, who is based in New Zealand. The play zooms in on a plethora of problems that plagued the country in the last few years resulting in the collapse and challenges in service delivery, the economy and industry.

Makuwe, who witnessed the demise of the health sector, gives a voice to a group of dead bodies dumped in an overcrowded, broken down hospital mortuary to tell the story of hard times that both the living and the dead went through.

Makuwe, who was a nursing student in 1996 at Parirenyatwa Hospital, witnessed a devastating industrial action by health professionals as students were not allowed to go on strike, so "we become a backbone of a paralysed health system".

The 2012 theatre promises to be one of the most exciting seasons at Theatre in the Park, where a total of 15 productions would be premiered.

Soon after "The Coup", which will run until March 11, another theatrical production, "Protest Revolutionaries" written by Vitori Entertainment and produced by theatre practitioner Silvanos Mudzvova, will also be premiered.

Protest Revolutionaries will run from March 13 to March 31, while "Changing of the Guard" written by Takura Zhangazha will also be premiered in April.

Commenting on this year's theatre menu, Daves Guzha, the proprietor and producer at Rooftop Promotions, said theatre buffs could not afford to miss any of the plays on offer.

"Our 2012 theatre calendar will be very much exciting with plays that will keep you at the edge of your seats.

"Besides the plays at Theatre in the Park a number of our plays that were showcased last year will be going on local, regional and international tours as we continue with our quest to provide home-grown artistic initiatives to our wider audience world over," he said.