Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
BEFORE his death, the man regarded as the godfather of theatre in Bulawayo, Cont Mhlanga, had a plea for the city’s thespians.
Mhlanga, who in Stitsha made one of the most memorable productions to come out of Amakhosi, felt that theatre had strayed too far from the people.
The community halls and street corners, where the legend of Cont was born, were no longer the rightful home for innovative art. Instead, theatre found itself in places that were once considered a preserve for the white members of society when the country was segregated along racial lines during the colonial era.
Community halls, which once echoed with the voices of young thespians, now found themselves host to the booming voices of Men of God as churches took residence at centres that used to be home of art excellence.
Theatre, Mhlanga reasoned, needed to go back to the people. Two years after his death, nothing much seems to have changed.
In an interview with Sunday Life, fellow playwright, Raisedon Baya said that theatre in the city had lost the spark that had seen Bulawayo dubbed as the cultural heartbeat of the country.
“It’s a sad topic and I think that the realisation for me is that in the past, theatre was vibrant. You would go to schools, you would go into colleges, you would go into community theatre halls and there would be performances left, right and centre. There were so many groups, especially in Bulawayo and Harare. There were a lot of theatre associations, including the white theatre association, which was called the National Theatre Organisation (NTO) and things were happening,” he said.
“Baya said while in the heydays of theatre, people used to clamour for formal training, there had been a reversal since then, as the country’s education system and academics had embraced the craft but now, the masses shunned it. If you go back to that time, you’ll realise that there was little recognition in terms of theatre training.
“You wouldn’t find it at schools and you wouldn’t find it in colleges. There was a bit of it at the University of Zimbabwe but that would be a class or two at most. During that time, a lot of people were crying for proper formal training. Upon reflection, you would realise that the arts are now even taught at primary school level. We even have people with PhDs in theatre and the arts. To me, that would translate to a more vibrant theatre space but it’s the opposite and that’s the sad part,” he said.
According to Baya, Zimbabwean theatre lost its mojo when art practitioners started catering to the taste of donors at the dawn of the 21st century.
“I believe that one of the reasons why we lost audiences and a lot of passionate theatre makers is that at some time, our theatre was hijacked by the donor mentality or the donor community. It was now about making theatre when you have already been paid and the money is there, so you’re just making it to fulfil a contract. So, therefore within that process, you know that when you’re performing whether the people are there or not, it doesn’t matter, whether the people are happy or not, it doesn’t matter.
“The most important person becomes the one that is paying you, which is the donor. Once his or her issues are in your play, you tick the boxes that they want then they’re good. We started pushing away theatre lovers and by that, I mean those that were there and were enjoying the art side of it. We became too issue-based because we were trying to chase the donor and playing according to the donor’s wish and that somehow killed theatre,” he said.
Renowned choreographer, Richard Ndlovu said when arts practitioners took theatre away from community halls, it triggered a chain reaction that in the end resulted in the slow and painful death of the local arts scene.
“To be honest, theatre in Bulawayo has died a natural death and I think many factors contributed towards that. When we were growing up, there were a lot of youth centres that would have drama competitions, for example, Lobengula Youth Centre would compete with Mpande of Njube and they would vie for the national trophy. Then in schools, there would be theatre productions showcased, so it was easy to capture the imagination of the next generation.
“Taking theatre from communities meant that we killed the audiences as well because a child who would watch a theatre production in school would be the same that would go on to pay and watch when they were grown up. I think people have given up on theatre and I think people now watch TV programmes that do not speak to our reality as Zimbabweans,” he said.
With dance groups becoming a trusted source of entertainment during functions held in the city, more artistes were driven to join dance ensembles instead of theatre productions, Ndlovu observed.
“Now, when you find theatre in secondary school, it is probably the performance of a set book. Children are not just watching theatre to enjoy themselves. In addition, in Bulawayo, a lot of groups are now just dance ensembles doing commercial work. You have the likes of Bambelela, Umkhathi and Iyasa sometimes, but you have to think hard to recall any groups in theatre,” he said.
Veteran thespian and director, Memory Kumbota said artistes in the city had lost touch with local communities, who did not often feel the need to support their productions because they no longer identified with them.
“There has been very little effort put into the strategic approach to maintaining and growing our audience for the theatre. There are various elements we mostly overlook. Community engagement for example. Building a relationship with our community through various engagements other than just advertising for performance.
“A few theatre companies are pursuing that though. I remember talking to Cont about the huge audiences at Stanley Hall and he spoke to me about open rehearsal on the square, the community saw the preparations and felt included in the process. Of course that was then, but we can craft new strategies now,” he said.
Kumbota also observed that theatre practitioners seemed intent on taking their audiences by surprise, giving them little time to prepare and plan for their productions.
Kumbota also expressed his displeasure at the fact that theatre now seemed to be a young man’s game.
“We should look at programming. Our programming is currently haphazard. Today, our regular audience cannot even pre-plan attendance to shows because we just spring a show on them and after a single performance the show disappears and in some cases forever. I call it disrespecting our audience and we should not cry when we don’t see them again, it is our fault.
“We have not improved the overall experience of the theatre. I am not happy about the average age of the theatre actor right now. We constantly see 20 to 30 years or even younger actors in their teens playing roles of mature characters. This on a professional stage is unacceptable because it becomes nothing but role play. There is a lack of mature actors and our theatre will remain in its infancy. People recognise that and it is a put-off,” he said.