“When a pen which drips woman, academic, mother, wife, teacher and
administrator proposes to visit the stage, we expect the product to be
as complex as the person. And we will be entirely justified in our
expectation given that the stage more often than not is that place which
captures and dramatizes our core selves in all their complexity. Thorns and Roses
is produced by just that kind of pen. But in spite of her multi-layered
identity, Frida Mbunda has succeeded in writing a play whose greatest
attractions lie in its unassuming, down-to-earth appeal. It is the story
of a single-parent home where a mother dedicates her life to her loving
but vulnerable single daughter. As its title suggests, the play employs
the allegorical archetype to colour the stage with characters and
issues of immediate relevance. Womanhood is at the centre of Mbunda’s
dramatic quest. She knows that being a woman means being exposed to the
attractions of shortcuts to happiness.”
