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BIRO: One Man’s Epic Chronicle of AIDS

By Joan H. Allen

“Biro,” is the name of Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine’s riveting new play at the Public Theater. “Biro’ is short for Mwerindebiro, which means beware of time,” stated Mr. Mwine. It is also the name of the title character. “BIRO” is one man’s story of survival across Uganda, Cuba and America. From the Ugandan insurgency of 1979 to a Texas jail cell in 2004, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine tells the story of Biro. The play begins in a Texas prison with Biro pleading for assistance from an immigration lawyer. Through the use of projected still photographs from the 1900’s to present, we see and hear how a young boy from a war-torn country, Uganda, becomes a man. After successfully taking up arms in the liberation struggle for his country, Biro finds himself at the front lines of a global war with a new plague - AIDS. “BIRO” is a global odyssey that provides interrogation of the American dream and a contemporary context for the AIDS crisis.

“What would Mwine like people to come away with in seeing this play? The story wrestles with the challenges and undeniable issues of HIV/Aids epidemic, the life of the illegal immigrant in the United States, and the struggle for democracy. “The play poses some challenging and difficult questions and if anyone can provide an answer, then I will really be very excited because they are very difficult questions, that we are all wrestling with. They are the questions that deal with the HIV/Aids epidemic, the life of the illegal immigrant in the United States, and the struggle for democracy. Those are the three main issues that the play deals with,” said Mwine.

“The play is based on a true story of someone Mwine knew. “It is a story that I was touched by and felt compelled to tell. It’s a very timely story that deals with issues that we are wrestling with presently,” he said. After he chose to first premiere the play in Uganda at the National Theater, he received calls from London, where it also premiered, and then New York. “I think it’s a testament to the issues that people are trying to push aside,” he said.

A first generation Ugandan – American, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine has been documenting the lives of Ugandans for the past fifteen years. “Biro” marks the first in a series of dramatic works to be written by Mr. Mwine that examines the trials and triumphs of Ugandans at home and abroad. A true story, “Biro” is based on the life of someone known to Mwine, whose life touched the heart of the writer and inspired him to share the story at home and abroad.

Mr. Mwine received a NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Actor in the national tour of “Six Degrees of Separation,” and a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Best Actor in the Steppenwolf Theater’s world premiere of “Nomathemba.” He has also worked extensively as an actor on television with credits including: ER, CSI and Law & Order to name a few. Mr. Mwine received his Masters Degree of Fine Arts in Acting from New York University and completed studies at The Moscow Arts Theater in Russia and The Royal National Theater in London.

“Biro” is currently at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan. For special discount preview tickets, call 212 947-8844 and mention the code: BRGEN35.

Joan H. Allen is President of the Arts & Entertainment Alliance, Executive Producer of Inside New York and Arts Editor of the Daily Challenge.