Robert Colman
Township theatre groups strut their stuff at the eighth annual Zwakala Festival beginning on October 11 at the Market Theatre Laboratory. As an open platform for new ideas, Zwakala is a forerunner in airing the best proponents of the marginalised voice – giving township talent the space it deserves.
The Market Theatre Laboratory attempts to redress the fact that many township theatre groups face limited performance opportunities. Once they’ve performed for their communities their work is showcased at the Market Laboratory. Then they’re left in the cold.
The Lab has addressed this dearth of opportunity by establishing two platforms for new township talent: their annual Community Theatre Festival and Zwakala. Zwakala is the result of free fieldworker assistance given to productions already in existence. These productions are selected from the best plays presented at the Community Theatre Festival. The best work at the Zwakala Festival is then selected for the Young Directors’ Festival held at the Laager Theatre in the main Market Theatre complex. This year’s Young Directors’ Festival, from on October 12, showcases two directors with work on Zwakala – Mncedisi Shabangu and Josias Moleele.
This system departs from the previous “Broadway syndrome”, stretching back to the days when township groups were under the illusion that if they sang in gymslips they’d end up in New York, returning with a fistful of dollars.
With the Market’s unique system, groups are now involved in the hard work of building what will hopefully be their theatre futures. Their work involves endeavours to mirror society, and in this they pull no punches. A dysfunctional education system, HIV/Aids, xenophobia, alcoholism and gangsterism are some of the serious issues on offer this year.
Somewhat lighter is Shabangu’s 10111 about teenage romance. Shabangu is the only director to have worked on both the Zwakala Festival and the Young Directors’ Festival this month. Another favourite is the Whistlers Art Project’s The Barber, in the grand old music hall style – wall to wall whistling, with no dialogue. For many groups the chance to appear at the festival is a chance to gain audience respect. Many complain that township audiences prefer to wait for the play to start cooking. Instead of watching from the beginning the people meander in half way through, when the action is sure to have reached boiling point.
Today, community theatre is still seen as not quite good enough to be on the main stages of the country’s theatres. This can be attributed to ignorance, and a lack of interest on the part of commercial managements, who may only pick up community products as an exception rather than a rule.
A widely held myth is that community theatre is actually amateur theatre with a politically correct name. In reality a lot of community theatre is better than its mainstream counterparts. The community versus mainstream argument is seen as a case of talent versus technique.
Commercial viability obviously prohibits community theatre from attaining a professional status. While a festival like Zwakala is strictly non-profit, one hears of managements who “paper” their houses by offering free tickets to fill their venues.
This year, the Market Theatre chose to produce a Zwakala-initiated production, Wangeshaya at the Laager Theatre, and audiences were enthralled by the company’s almost surreal depiction of a rural community striving to overcome the ravages of industrialisation.
In quality, Wangeshaya was far from inferior. In the words of festival coordinator Shabangu, a visit to the Lab will treat audiences to “a true theatrical experience of experimental theatre without boundaries”.
Zwakala runs from October 11 to 17 at the Market Theatre Laboratory, Newtown Cultural Precinct, Johannesburg. Tel: 836-0516