African theatre under spotlight

FLORENCE Makanga-Majachani’s SWOT analysis of African theatre that was used by the participants in the theatre breakaway session of the 3rd was not only well received by the participants but was also regarded as pointing to salient features of challenges being faced by the African theatre industry.

The participants and scholars used the analysis in their consideration of state of affairs in African theatre in terms of theatre creation, production, consumption and distribution.

The need for African indaba on theatre was highlighted in theatre distribution. In fact, it was stressed that theatre indaba should begin at the Sadc level. It was argued that while a meeting of African theatre practitioners to dialogue on what could be done to grow the theatre industry on the continent was essential, it is more realistic and fruitful to begin such dialogue at the sub-regional level and that within the Sadc, for example, challenges being faced in the theatre sector were common and it would be possible to come up with effective strategies to overcome these challenges.

What was considered paramount was a dialogue among the nations of the Sadc on the adoption of a common strategy for the promotion of theatre industry development in the community.

Makanga-Majachani pointed at the fact that the Sadc Theatre Festival that took place in Mozambique in the late 1990s “has since disappeared from the face of the region and yet it was an opportunity for developing theatre markets in the Sadc.

Another major weakness of the African theatre pointed out was the existence of weak theatre networking structures such as the East African Theatre Institute (EATI) and the Southern African Theatre Initiative (SATI) which ideally should have led in facilitating dialogue on theatre industry development on the continent.

Also noted as appropriate platform for a dialogue on African theatre development were forums created by the African Centres of international associations such as the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People (ASSITEJ), the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and the International Amateur Theatre Association (IATA).

Makanga-Majachani said African theatre practitioners were slow in establishing national centres of such important international theatre associations. She said in Africa there were 19 national centres of the International Theatre Institute and that 11 of the centres are found in West Africa.

In Southern Africa, active centres of ITI are found in Zimbabwe and Botswana. These centres are their infancy and may not have the capacity at the moment to organise sub-regional dialogues on theatre development. In this regard, therefore, the recent announcement that African centres of ITI would be holding a regional meeting in Cote d’Ivoire during this month is good news as the forum has the potential of facilitating the type of African theatre indaba.

Makanga-Majachani said one major weakness of African theatre was that theatre education was predominantly informal. Southern African participants asked why our education systems should find it difficult to incorporate performing arts education in the school curriculum.

Why should it be difficult for our governments to appreciate that a solid theatre education within the formal school system is the foundation for a vibrant theatre industry not only because that education produces the required theatre practitioners but also grows audiences for theatre.

Soon after the 3rd International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People circulated a call for arts education practitioners to petition their governments to ensure the 37th conference does not yield the call to lower the status of arts education in Unesco’s programmes.

Sadly, it was observed that most of the governments of the Sadc had not taken seriously the Unesco Roadmap to Arts Education, the recommendations of the African Regional Conference on Arts Education held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and the Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education.

Makanga-Majachani said the lack of infrastructure for theatre practitioners to rehearse their theatre productions and to present their theatre performances was a major weakness of the African theatre scene, I recalled the debate during Hifa 2012, when one Zimbabwean thespian said the theatre infrastructure that was available in the late 80s were still in existence and yet not easily accessible to the theatre sector today.

It was noted that debate that many school halls in urban centres are good theatre venues which were as accessible as the community halls during the community theatre heydays of the late 1980s.

Makanga-Majachani used, in her SWOT analysis of African theatre, the example of the vibrancy of playwriting in Zimbabwe, where in 2011 the country “recorded more than 25 new professionally written plays which were premièred during that year”.

The question that came to mind had to do with what had happened to these plays. Have these plays been published? Are they being produced or have they become forgotten theatre material already? Do theatre houses and theatre companies in Zimbabwe consider these plays as essential theatre heritage that should continue being performed?

In many respects 25 as plays being written and performed in one year should be a good indicator of a viable theatre industry.
And yet many people in Zimbabwe find it difficult to consider theatre activities in Zimbabwe as industry for various reasons. African Creative Economy Conference Ms Yvette Hardie, the president of the Unesco General Conference, urged the organisation to examine Makanga-Majachani’s analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to African theatre.