Breakfast With Mugabe

Aurora Theatre
2081 Addison Street Berkeley

What would it be like if a political dictator sat down for a therapy session with a psychiatrist? Breakfast With Mugabe imagines that scenario, with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as the surprising patient seeking treatment for depression. Named by Parade magazine the worst dictator of the year in 2009, and known for racism against whites, Mugabe is not a person you'd expect to have a smooth time exploring his inner world with a white doctor. Fraser Grace's award-winning thriller captures that perfectly, as the fictionalized Mugabe struggles to understand why he's being haunted by a spirit from his bloody past, and the doctor stirs up memories that trigger in Mugabe a startling reaction. The real Mugabe, who's ruled Zimbabwe for three decades, originally came to power as a hero who'd survived 10 years of being a prisoner of war, followed by a successful win in the battle against white minority rule. But in the years since becoming Prime Minister and then President (when the office of Prime Minister was abolished), he's run an increasingly authoritarian regime that's characterized by human rights violations, discrimination, corruption, economic mismanagement and violent, coercive re-election tactics.