The Sunday Mail
Society Reporter
THE Covid-19 pandemic, which discouraged gatherings, might have subsided, but it left scars on the local theatre industry that was already smarting from lack of resources and support. Calls are presently being made for theatre groups to formulate business models that capacitate them in sustainable ways.
Daniel Maposa, the executive director of Savanna Trust, a non-profit organisation specialising in theatre, is not happy with the current state of affairs. “As theatre groups, we are at a crossroads. We are facing viability problems and our growth is stunted,” he said.
Community theatre groups, he added, no longer have easy access to public halls, where they used to rehearse. “We have community halls such as Cyril Jennings Hall in Highfield, Harare. Here, community theatre groups used to refine their works free of charge. Now, for a group to access such venues, they must pay a lot of money,” he said. Resultantly, most theatre groups are now forced to rehearse in open spaces and backyards, which, in turn, results in few and sub-standard productions.
“The quality and consistency in the production of plays determine the kind of audience you attract. People do not pay to watch sub-standard productions that are produced after long, dry spells. The audiences are dwindling by the day, and this is a cause for concern,” Maposa said.
Jasen Mphepo, the executive director of the Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre, says live theatre productions are now synonymous with poor crowds. “The audiences are becoming smaller and smaller, and this is not good at all. In my view, we are yet to get out of the woods that were brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Mphepo, however, believes there is still hope. “Bit by bit, we are rebuilding. We recently had a theatre festival, and, to me, this means that we are moving in the right direction.”
Although the majority of the community theatre groups are struggling, some of the established groups, like Bob Mutumbi’s Zimbabwe Theatre Academy, the Centre for Talent Development and the Savannah Trust, are doing well. Savanna Trust recently hosted a three-day festival under its “Accel Zimbabwe Project”. Those who attended the festival were taught a number of things, chief among them issues to do with intellectual property rights, set designing and theatre acting.
Live theatre plays were performed by groups such as Bulawayo’s Young Artists Development School. The group performed the play “Isiphelo Sohambo”. The Jasen Mphepo Little Theatre performed “Beautiful Man”, a production that tackles men’s mental health issues.
Abantu Creative Projects, a South African group, performed “Indlela”, with Zambia’s Mtsinje Trust entertaining the audience with “Flesh and Blood”.
