JULIE BARKER enjoyed the vibrance and variety of the performers at the FNB Vita Community Theatre Festival
THIS year saw the seventh FNB Vita Market Theatre Lab Community Theatre Festival bursting at the seams. At the opening ceremony, the FNB general manager of group communications said that the pursuit and promotion of excellence within the arts is its vision. In the light of this statement, one wonders why there is no Community Theatre Award offered within the FNB Vita Awards.
The festival is a platform for new work, it is also a measure of the enormous success of the field workers, who are sent all around the country by the Market Laboratory. Specialists in various areas of performance, the field workers facilitate projects and impart valuable skills to sometimes isolated community groups.
Most people associate community theatre with the 1980s style of protest theatre. But community theatre is the purest form of theatre, in that it is theatre for the people, by the people and it holds up a mirror to society, reflecting the violence, abuse, passion and hope of that community. Fascinatingly enough, while similar themes run throughout the festival, the plays that reflect various communities are sometimes very different.
Take for example the Badirile Group from Carletonville, whose play I Have Hope had the content and style of a political protest piece. It seems as if a change in government has not reached this small community at all. Then the fabulously sentimental I Will Remember You, written and directed by Fats Gerald from Kimberly, tells a love story set against the gritty backdrop of a changing social order.
Animal abuse is not a common topic at the festival, but this year it was covered by two groups, Babuyile Theatre group from Nelspruit and the We Ensemble Theatre group from Soweto, whose You Cruel Humanity was a sharp and witty satire on the uprising of animals fed up with oppression. Real-life accounts of animal abuse gleaned from the news are cunningly interwoven as a series of confessional and individual stories. Written and directed by Kgosana Bakwena, You Cruel Humanity is an excellent piece of satire.
A few plays dealt with the remnants of a culture slowly being destroyed. This was explored by Gamakulu Diniso, whose Lost Shadow is a delicately introspective exploration on the ways of behavior dictated by culture, and the struggle to realign the individual with these ethics.
What about the Culture of Learning?, by the Bayasha group from Nelspruit, attempts to examine the aftermath of liberation ideology in a post-apartheid education system. Ultimately, the piece calls for the restoration of the culture of learning as advocated in terms of ubuntu.
A Vision in Dance, directed by David Kerr of the University of Botswana, dealt with the westernisation of the people of Botswana and the effects of large-scale farming. This is pertinent subject matter but the thorough portrayal of history from the 1900s to the present may not have been the most effective theatrical choice. Characterisation and dramatic tension were sacrificed for facts.
Six 9, by the Magosi Dedicated Artists, also from Botswana, was a lively and well- directed story of a school gang whose office was the divinely seedy boys’ toilet. The gang’s vicious ethic is challenged by a toilet cleaner who transforms their perceptions of bravery and cowardice.
Issues dealing with children were a common theme – particularly child abuse. Who’s to be Blamed?, by the Vuka Theatre Group of Kimberley, dealt with the hazards of adoption. It was intelligently explored and there was some good characterisation.
The most disturbing piece on child abuse came from the Phuleng Cultural group in Qwa Qwa. Entitled Stop Child Abuse, its cast of mainly children took us through a harrowing account of the neglect and abuse many parents seem to perpetrate. While this piece is a very astute exploration of these issues, the graphic rape scene involving child and adult actors is superfluous. Sometimes reported action has much more impact.
Doowit, by the Ubaqha Players of Daveyton, was an eccentric and irreverent story of the suicide of a mediocre boxing trainer. This hilarious and technically excellent story, with a simple and imaginatively used set, had the audience rolling in the aisles. The director, Bonginkosi Banda, is a ferocious talent and within Doowit his zany sense of humour ultimately reveals a deeper truth. The play operates on many levels, investigating the nature of success and failure with tragi-comic brilliance.
Running hot on Doowit’s heels is Di Botshwa Hiii, performed by the Savutha group of Bloemfontein. Two homeless glue-sniffers relive the past events in their lives through a series of non-sequential flashbacks. Extremely well constructed and acted, this was a popular favourite with the festival audience.
The very experienced Bafutsana Players from Thembisa produced Potion. Written and directed by Victor Mocoemere and performed by Pitso Molefe, this one-man show with haunting imagery and sharp and fast wit was a fine example of excellent storytelling and solid and skilled performance technique. The Orange Sun by Gamakulu Diniso, Bra Sizwe, Going Home by Monde Mayepo and Chakalaka, written by Tefo Dipholo, all displayed detailed observation, successful storylines and atmospheric emotional journeys.
Another very well-crafted play came from Producoes Ola of Mozambique. Written and directed by Mario Mabjaia, Sextra-Feira tells the story of a conman’s bad luck on Friday 13. Satirically observed characters and a rollicking Dario Fo-type farce style made for side-splitting humour.
The themes of abuse, revenge and reconciliation were explored through movement and undercut by formalised urban dancing from the 1960s, by the Devonshy group from Alexandra. Muscular and controlled movement and a highly developed conceptual and spatial technique made this piece, Tswaranang riveting viewing.
The Rovuwa dance group from Soweto was very interesting in terms of its experimentation. It featured some good dancing and clear concepts.
It is impossible to mention all 40 productions, but there are common faults and similar strengths. Generally, most pieces needed tighter direction and a lot of pieces could afford to cut their content by half. The theatrical standards vary according to levels of expertise and experience but there are huge amounts of skilled and undeveloped talent.
What is extraordinary is that through all the abuse, homelessness, poverty and criminality there is enormous hope and energy and a serious commitment to critical and explorative discourse within the medium of theatre.
In the words of Gogy Serobatse, field worker at the Market Lab: “Amandla to the artists, amandla!”