On the frontlines of protest, development and celebration

A response to the Theatre Indaba by Roshan Sewpersad*

That opiate of the masses, television, is a useful indicator of trends in pop culture, particularly what passes for art and entertainment. Presently, TV (and its symbion, the Hollywood Blockbuster), reveals that Reality (or rather, approximate Reality) TV is the answer to all our entertainment needs. Audiences want to get involved in shaping their entertainment by Picking Up Their Phones and Voting. National consciousness can be piqued. In fact what passes for news these days frequently alludes to this crop of nouveau entertainers.

Is this the inevitable consequence of the age of information technology? Does the cut 'n' paste of today's Pop Idol popping up in tomorrow's soap opera mean that we're going to end up with a stagnant pool of endlessly recycled entertainers? What other mundane activity can inspire the next slew of Reality Shows?

It is against this backdrop that South African theatre practitioners exercise their craft. And just as television marked the end of the Grand Age of Cinema, so too, by perpetuating The Dumbing Down Of The Masses, does it relegate theatre to just another entertainment form, and not a source of inspirational, meaningful art.

It is a pity that the theatre community was not more successful in making a significant contribution to the development of a vibrant and sustainable performing arts policy that would have seen us into our first decade of democracy with a flourishing theatre scene. Not even presently is there popular understanding of what is happening. The lack of any activism by recognisable theatre figures also presents a false sense of comfort. If anything, the arts community seems to have been dogged by infighting and generally projecting the image of an elephant in its last throes. This has left us with a dearth of relevant, quality South African theatre. Unless we start to create some soon, theatre will flounder for the next decade, struggling to achieve recognition as a vital element of culture and struggling to attract diverse audiences.

Making theatre that is relevant involves a commitment to contributing towards nation building. Instead of spending funding on the next unexciting Veronica Paeper ballet, for example, we need to see works tackling issues such as Aids, poverty, crime, the environment … Art must reflect reality. Theatre must be on the frontlines of protest, development and celebration. Emerging filmmakers seem to have their act together; theatre should not lag far behind.

It is also our system of theatre education, or lack of one, that impedes development. Admirably, there are organisations that continue to run development programmes. Not many of these focus on creating texts and theatre craft, however. Indigenous forms of theatre are also virtually unknown. The research environment has also not produced any works that come to mind immediately.

In order to grow, theatre has to fulfil many roles. In South Africa we have a tradition of large theatre centres in the major cities with smaller theatres few and far between. These urban theatre centres need to reinvent themselves as trendy social spots, enticing a potential audience who would otherwise frequent the malls in search of entertainment1.

In a society such as ours, with still fragmented identities in contrast with emerging urban identities, an obvious way of attracting diverse audiences is by featuring those art forms that transcend linguistic and racial boundaries. They should reflect a South Africanness. Fortunately, these art forms have also been the best lately, and include dance, physical theatre and music.

Given the historical baggage with which high art and community art are burdened, a visit to the theatre is still perceived as an elite pursuit. This situation must be rectified, especially with the death of smaller, local theatres. It is indeed satisfying to watch community performance groups as well as artists visiting from other African and Asian countries being welcomed by our theatres that have traditionally been associated with western art forms such as ballet and opera.

The young elite are another important potential audience. Productions need to appeal to them to secure their patronage. One could take some cues from the ever popular Talent Shows and other formats that appeal to the youth, such as soap operas like Backstage. Fashion, technology, sex and music videos are all common preoccupations. Interdisciplinary, multimedia productions could really succeed. From my observations, collaborations between different art forms, a return to the variety and cabaret format, seem to attract large, diverse audiences. What about a theatre of the bizarre to give WWF and Fear Factor a run for their money?

What about good, old plays? After all, theatre is the traditional home of drama and comedy. There seem to be fewer plays that have been all-round successes, and even fewer brilliant, original works lately.

The state of South African play writing and performance can improve vastly. And hopefully improvement does not take the form of a leaning towards the onanistic academism found in some plays that overdo the metaphors and symbolism, and feature too many grimacing, declaiming actors. Most of the new South African plays are ponderous and do not uplift. They also look old-fashioned and insular. Why can't they all be as fertile as the works of Brett Bailey?

While dance has always been quick to embrace the new and avant garde, plays have been lagging (with a few notable exceptions). South Africa is so ready for more post modern theatre. (This is not to rubbish the role of Phantoms and Nutcrackers in promoting audience retention.)

Theatre needs to become as ubiquitous as dance and music. We have the perfect climate for outdoor theatre, for example, but all we have is Maynardville, once a year. We also come from a rich tradition of political satire, but see very little new, current work being produced. And where are the new musicals amakwerekwere and kwaito?

The current portfolio of arts festivals seems to be the ideal vehicle for popularising and stimulating the performing arts. They seem to be growing - hopefully, they're working together on doing things right. Festivals are useful for exposing and stimulating new talent, and for showcasing South Africa's diverse cultural heritage. They also provide content for the theatre centres. So what if an air of carnival prevails if profits are reinvested in the performing arts?

At the end of the day, money talks. It is sad that the vagaries of finance are determining the direction and contribution of performing arts. Rebel. Work doubly hard. When ideas have run out for the next Reality Show, the performing arts will make a comeback and we should be ready.







1One could deconstruct shopping malls as the new temples of consumption. And temples have always been a space for theatrical performance. See http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/temples.html.



*Roshan Sewpersad is a reviewer for OpStage on LitNet. He has studied dance, music, Afrikaans and Netherlandic studies, Hindi, computer science and information systems (Cape Town). He has worked in radio, ICT, and the arts and entertainment industries. He has contributed to and been curator a number of art exhibitions and festivals. His interests lie in new media, internet activism, and writing.



LitNet: 8 October 2004

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