Universities give traditional theatre a space to express stories through activism

Performance studies theorist, Richard Schechner, in the most simplest of ways theorised seven functions of performance, which serves as a guideline for potential dramaturges. These are: to entertain, to create something that is beautiful, to mark or change identity, to foster community, to heal, to teach or to persuade, and to deal with the holy or the demonic. Modern theatre consists of a mix of these functions. This is shown by the fact that there are rarely theatre productions that just serve to entertain. Has theatre lost that function? Continue reading and we’ll see. This feature sheds a spotlight on student theatre, and its prominent contribution to activism.

Flashback to 2015: a year that is regarded as a catalyst for many students movements throughout the country and the rest of the world. At the University of Cape Town, #RhodesMustFall takes ground. The aim? To remove a statue of Cecil John Rhodes, coloniser and chief funder of the University. The decolonisation of tertiary education is also needed. What many people do not know is that during this troubling time the performing arts was the mouthpiece that enabled cohesion, and it was through the arts that the core ideology was presented. Students expressed themselves through song, dance and performance art installations.

Lest we forget student theatre. One such a production was 23 Years, a Month and 7 days, a production written by Nwabisa Plaatjie, who was a student at UCT in the time of the fallist movements. This production uses storytelling and physical theatre as devices to engage with the struggles that women face in political environments on campus.

Similarly, activism through student theatre has caught on to drama departments at other universities too. Recently, a theatre festival was held at Stellenbosch University which aimed to stage new works by its students. These works had to comment on social issues. Some of these works were:

• eva in geel. – a production that analyses the psychology and relationships in adulthood. This production was written by Wian Taljaard, and conceptualised by Anke Cullinan, and facilitated by Mercy Kanneyer.
• [dieselle] – a production that explores the cycle of coloured identity, living in poverty and going to jail. This production is very didactic, and very Brechtian. This production was devised by Cantona James and Ashwin Smith.
• Deurmekaar – through the use of comedic sketches, Carla Smith analyses the complexities of femininity. The activism in this production comes through by using stereotypical characters.

It is clear that student theatre has become a clear means through which activism can be expressed. Coming back to my introductory provocation, theatre seems to have lost its purpose of merely entertaining. This provides a hopeful future in that theatre will continue to educate the masses on issues, as it has already been doing. Aluta continua.