Enock Chihombori, better known as Toby in drama circles, has shed light on his relationship with popular comedian Gringo (real name Lazarus Boora).
Report by Winstone Antonio
The duo’s relationship started more than a decade ago with Boora featuring in most of Chihombori’s productions and continues to flourish up to today.
The Botswana-based Chihombori told Standardlife&style, lasting operational relationships are a result of the ability to understand one another.
“The biggest drive in maintaining a long and lasting working relationship is the ability to know and acknowledge the purpose of the unity,” said Chihombori.
“With Boora, we have one goal and one common interest and that is obviously the character of Gringo. We both respect that and we both know one cannot do without the other.
Chihombori however admitted that despite having managed to keep their respectable working environments, there were times when the two had conflicts.
“We have had difference of opinions on several occasions, but those have always been minor compared to our common goal,” he said.
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“The first years were particularly challenging at times because we still had to learn and understand each other and ways of doing things.
“I was very volatile and quite vocal when I thought Boora had done something wrong and he was mostly unapologetic and quite mischievous. However, we had to learn to live with each other like that.” Gringo has always been a good actor: Chihombori
Enock Chihombori met Boora at an acting club called Screentalent in Harare in 1997.
By that time, he had started writing the script of Gringo.
“Lazarus Boora did not regularly attend club meetings, so I never had the opportunity to connect with him,” said Chihombori.
“The first time I saw him perform, he caught my attention as a good actor, but I never really considered him for the role of Gringo since he was no longer coming to the club when I finished writing the script. He had other acting commitments in a ZBC drama by Aaron Chiundura Moyo called Chihwerure.”
Chihombori said Boora showed great potential in Chihwerure in which he was playing a policeman’s role.
“When my script was approved by ZBC in 1998, the director Dorothy Chidzawo and I started throwing around names to play the main actor and Chidzawo, as someone who had worked with Gringo in Chihwerure, recommended him,” he said.
“There was no need to audition him and we just called him and gave him the part. He did not audition for it and it was just natural,” he said.
Chihombori also took the time to talk about the happy moments we shared with the late Collin Dube who played John Banda in his series.
“I always recall those early years with John Banda as we were always jovial. John Banda, Blessing Chimhowa [Mbudziyadhura] and Boora always made us laugh,” he said.
