Political Shifts and Black Theatre in South Africa Rangoajane, F.L
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Political shifts and black theatre in South Africa Rangoajane, F.L. Citation Rangoajane, F. L. (2011, November 16). Political shifts and black theatre in South Africa. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18077 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/18077 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). Political Shifts and Black Theatre in South Africa PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof.mr. P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op woensdag 16 november 2011 klokke 11.15 uur door Francis L. Rangoajane geboren te Bloemfontein, Zuid-Afrika in 1963 Promotiecommissie Promotor Prof.dr. E.J. van Alphen Co-promotor Dr. D. Merolla Leden Prof.dr. M.E. de Bruijn Dr. Y. Horsman Prof.dr. E. Jansen (Universiteit van Amsterdam) Prof.dr. R.J. Ross Prof.dr. W.J.J. Schipper-de Leeuw Table of Contents Introduction 1 1.1 The Creation of Apartheid South Africa 5 1.2 Black Theatre in Apartheid South Africa 8 1.3 Challenges 15 1.4 Experimenting in Black Theatre 25 1.5 Research Method 27 1.6 Thesis Approach 28 1.7 Selection Criteria 30 1.8 Data Analysis and Interpretation 35 1.9 Chapter Layout 36 1 The South African State and Black Theatre 38 1.1 Apartheid and Black Theatre 38 1.2.1 Gibson Kente’s Too Late 46 1.2.2 Kani, Ntshona and Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead 47 1.2.3 Mda’s Dark Voices Ring, Banned and Joys of War 51 1.2.4 Ngema and Maponya 59 1.3 Apartheid’s Reaction to Black Theatre 62 1.4 Democratically elected Government and the Arts 67 1.5 Present Tensions 71 2 Black and Dramatic Art World 78 2.1 Apartheid Education and its Effects 83 2.2 Provincial Parameters under Apartheid 87 2.3.1 Black Theatre Practitioners Responses to the Apartheid System-FUBA 96 2.3.2 Soyikwa Institute of African Theatre 101 2.3.3 The Market Theatre Playhouse Laboratory 102 2.3.4 Sibikwa Community Theatre Project 104 2.4.1 Post-Apartheid Context 105 2.4.2 Other old and new Institutes: Contradictions and Changes 107 2.4.3 Funds for Theatre and State Responsibility 113 3 The older Generation South African Black Playwrights 120 3.1 Zakes Mda 120 3.2 Maishe Maponya 142 3.3 Fatima Dike 161 3.4 Mbongeni Ngema 184 3.5 Walter Chakela 201 4 The young generation of black playwrights 227 4.1 Sello Ncube 231 4.2 Kere Nyawo 240 4.3 Obed Baloyi 248 4.4 Paul Grootboom 255 4.5 Aubrey Sekhabi and Paul Grootboom 266 4.6 Emily Tseu 277 4.7 Thulani Mtshali 286 4.8 Maggi Williams 296 4.9 Boy Bangala 304 4.10 Lufuno Mutele 313 4.11 Maropodi Mapakalanye 321 Conclusion 335 Bibliography 354 Samenvatting (Summary in Dutch) 365 Acknowledgements 369 Curriculum Vitae 370 Introduction The democratization process in South Africa that started in the early 1990s and culminated in the first multiracial general election in 1994, marked a new political era in the history of South Africa. Thanks to this political shift the people of South Africa were for the first time perceived as equal regardless of race, while the concept of race itself could be criticized and displaced. However “race” remained (and still remains) a problematic knot in South African society. Tribal, ethnic, and most of all “racial” divisions inflamed confrontations as the different groups jostled for the control of the land and its resources. Fatima Meer observes the South African tragedy is that the country does not have a “people,” it has “race groups.” Meer argues that over the last three centuries, those who took control were informed and guided by “race;” for example, public utilities became classified as white and non-white by the apartheid government, and people were slotted in accordingly. The “non-whites” developed a political front as the disenfranchised, and later, as black people, but felt little identity beyond the political divide.1 The South African political shift triggered a chain reaction, which launched a process to redress all the imbalances of the past. The political shift, therefore, called for reflection on what came to light and on the concept of “race” itself in order to bring about genuine reconciliation, reconstruction and development benefiting all the people of South Africa. Meer notes: We need to understand what happened in order to come to terms with current problems; we need to know why it happened in order to prevent it happening again.2 With regard to the importance of reflection on the political shift, Meer argues that one of the areas that need to be revisited following this political landmark is Black Theatre3 given the role it played under apartheid and the sacrifices and experiences South African black playwrights and practitioners endured. In Southern Africa, the written word is a recent phenomenon popularized by white colonial settlers following their arrival on the continent in the 18th century. However, this does not imply that there was no form of drama before colonization, especially when considering ritual performance. Steve Biko comments: 1 Fatima Meer ed., “The CODESA File-Negotiating a non-racial Democracy in South Africa” – Institute of Black Research Project, Madibe Publishers, March. [1993], p.69 2 Ibid. p.12 3 The definition of Black Theatre will be dealt with later. 1 They have deliberately arrested our culture at the tribal stage to perpetuate the myth that African people were near-cannibals, had no real ambitions in life, and were preoccupied with sex and drink.4 On the contrary, just like Biko argues above, performance has always been and still is central to the African way of life, whether in the form of rituals to honor the dead or to mark birth of a new baby, or to bless seeds prior to ploughing, as a prayer for rain during drought or to thank gods after harvest. The closest form of indigenous drama to Western theatre was through story telling around the open fire before bedtime. The eminent Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o observes that drama has origins in human struggles with nature and other human beings. In pre- colonial Kenya, drama was not an isolated event, but part and parcel to the rhythm of daily and seasonal life of the community, there were rituals and ceremonies to celebrate and mark birth, circumcision or initiation into the different stages of growth and responsibility, marriages and the burial of the dead.5 Similarly, the Brazilian theatre director and political activist Augusto Boal has argued that in many nations considered not civilized, theatre was a dithyrambic song, free people singing in the open air with a carnival and festive feeling.6 Kees Epskamp reinforces this imagery: In pre-colonial Africa the performing arts had a strong ritual function and also served the purpose of entertainment and education. Dance, music, song, poetry and drama were used for intellectual, sexual and moral socialization and also to give instruction in practical skills. The transmission of myths strengthened young people’s cultural identity. It prepared them for the future by teaching the ‘why’ of social behavior and societal tradition.7 Epskamp argues that throughout the centuries and in various parts of the world, theatre has been used in transferring all kinds of knowledge, instructions and entertainment. As a result, theatre as a vehicle for non-formal education in post- colonial countries has attracted more and more attention.8 Epskamp writes: 4 Steve Biko, “White Racism and Black Consciousness” in Hendrik van der Merwe ed. Students’ Perspective of apartheid. [1972], p.200 5 Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Languages in African Literature. [1986], p.36 6 Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed. [1979], p.119 Since the ‘70s the idea of a dichotomy between “civilized” and “non-civilized” cultures has been forcefully criticized in anthropological and literary studies. See Mineke Schipper, Imaging Insiders: Africa and the Question of Belonging [1999], pp.13-29. 7 Kees Epskamp, Learning by Performing Arts. [1992], p.8 8 Ibid. p.17 2 In the traditional education of children in rural areas, the performing arts were taught by exposing children to music, dance and drama. From the time they were young, knowledge and skills in these arts were transferred during work, in the evening hours on festive occasions or simply during everyday games.9 Likewise, Samuel Hay concurs that in colonial North America, theatre had a dual origin. First came the indigenous theatre consisting of folk tales and songs, as well as music, dance and mimicry that African Americans performed in cabins, at camp meetings and in open parks. These forms of expression were African in spirit and were transformed by the American environment.10 However, despite Africa’s rich cultural heritage and practices, Ngugi laments that the arrival of the white settlers destroyed most of these cultural practices: It was the British colonialism which destroyed all that tradition. The missionaries in their proselytizing zeal saw many of these traditions as works of the devil. They had to be fought before the bible could hold sway in the hearts of the natives.11 Ngugi argues that both the missionaries and the colonial administration used the school system to destroy the concept of the ‘empty space’ among the people by trying to capture and confine it in government-supervised urban community halls, church-buildings, and in actual theatre buildings with the proscenium stage.12 Like Ngugi, Boal regrets that walls of division were built following the ruling class’ appropriation of the theater.