The scantily dressed actress waltzes majestica lly on to the Mannenberg theatre stage, jutting breasts noticeable beneath the red silky lingerie that reveal the curves of her body. She cuddles a teddy bear close to her chest, caressing its fur, as she gets lost in fantasy to the lyrical soundtrack of Love Is Not Supposed to Hurt by U Meleni.
The audience watches in awe as the spotlight intensifies on the dazzling young body of Netsai gliding into character in a scene from the stage drama Sister-Sister, which recently premiered in the capital.
The play romanticises life through the eyes of a young urbanite woman surviving in a tough patriarchal society. In apparent deviation from traditional provocative protest art, risky in Zimbabwe for criticising government wrongs, sizeable audiences have gone to watch the play — a short piece of developmental theatre exploring the essence of womanhood in a hilarious and classical way.
Mellow and ”good-humoured” developmental art fantasising life, like in Sister-Sister, is making a big resurgence, no doubt much to the relief of President Robert Mugabe and his governing Zanu-PF party — long the butt of criticism by protest artists who accuse the ruling establishment for plunging Zimbabwe into its worst economic recession to date.
Playhouses such as the Mannenberg Theatre have hosted some of the most hard-hitting political satires yet — including What They Said What They Got, which blasts the government directly for curtailing media freedom through draconian laws such the Access to Information and the Protection of Privacy Act.
But theatres are transforming. In a complete shift of focus from confrontational political art lampooning the country’s leadership for bad governance, artists are tuning into the more mundane developmental scripts romanticising life safely away from police trouble.
Submission?
The shift has already raised questions whether the continued arrests and intimidation of artists have finally cowed the otherwise bold protest-arts sector to submit to the wishes of a ruthless state that has in recent months banned several productions perceived as too critical of the government and arrested artists.
Larry Ndoro, producer and director of Sister-Sister, is quick in his defence of developmental art: ”No, we haven’t been cowed into any submission. We want humour for a change through developmental art … we want a good laugh and a smile for once [rather] than be fed on endless politics. If music and theatre were all politicised, there would be no entertainment.”
Star of the show Privilege Mutendera — who has featured in tough satires like Decades of Terror, written and produced by Daniel Maphosa, and is among performers crossing over to romantic productions — says: ”As an actor I am a foot soldier and simply do what the directors and producers want … sing, dance, cry, laugh — anything.”
Veteran playwright and arts educator Stephen Chifunyise says the shift to romantic and development theatre is only a confirmation of theatre as a versatile medium of communication that can be used to convey political as well as social and developmental messages.
”Protest theatre can’t always be attacking the same people that it seeks to influence and educate,” says Chifunyise, a former top official in Mugabe’s government.
However, controversial playwright and director Cont Mhlanga scoffs at the resurgence of romantic theatre, saying artists changing over to this type of theatre at the expense of protesting for socio-economic change are simply cowards afraid of the government.
The playwright, who has been in endless trouble with police for his provocative productions, says: ”Zimbabwe is in a tragic state, and why should artists romanticise tragedy?”
He adds: ”I don’t understand why an artist should stand on stage and say, ‘Let’s have a good laugh,’ when people can’t find food in the shop … when the sick can’t get medicines from hospitals and when the homeless are sleeping on the streets. What kind of art is that, that turns us into fools?”
Mhlanga, a winner of numerous accolades, says Zimbabwe now requires courageous protest artists who are the eyes and ears of society and who can articulate the nation’s political tragedy, offering clues and solutions.
But with state security agents on the lookout and ready to pounce on any form of dissent, such theatre is a risky undertaking — something Mhlanga knows all too well — which is probably just the reason why feel-good romantic theatre is on the ascendancy. — ZimOnline