The Sunday News
ARTS focus with Raisedon Baya
ONE of our much-loved projects which were heavily affected by Covid-19 is the Live Literature Project. This is a project where we train young artistes in theatre skills as part of their practical lessons where they dramatise O and A-level literature setbooks. In the past we were able to do both English and IsiNdebele setbooks. The project is premised on the belief that literature, especially drama, is meant to be seen live on stage and not read as textbooks.
The project has well been received in schools and in past we have had schools travelling from places like Victoria Falls, Gwanda and Plumtree to see the performances at Bulawayo Theatre.
Last year we didn’t have the Live Literature Project. Covid-19 happened and everything was put on hold. We could not rehearse. Schools closed. Performances were banned. And the country, and world, closed. We got so many teachers and students asking why we were no longer doing the project. Well, our answer is we are still doing the project; just waiting for things to open up and venues are able to host performances again.
We are very aware of how the project has helped students visually to understand their literature texts by physically seeing the characters and having post-performance discussions with the cast and students from other schools.
We also received news that our play Tomorrow’s People and other plays is now part of the A-level Syllabus, the drama section. This, for us, is a vindication that we have been singing the right hymn. We can’t wait to have this anthology as part of our live literature programme.
We can’t wait to share our thoughts and experience on the writing and staging of the plays with students and teachers. The anthology for schools has three plays, Critical Moments, Madmen and Fools and Tomorrow’s People. These discuss different but critical issues that Zimbabwe went through in the last 20 years or so.
It is true that art can be used to comment and record history. This is what the three plays basically do. They recorded the crazy inflation in the economy that we experienced during the (former RBZ governor) Gideon Gono’s era in Critical Moments.
The work also recorded and comments on the challenges to acquire passports. So, the passport becomes some form of a runaway ticket. Young people are supposed to be the ones taking over the building of homes and the country. Who will do it when they all move to other countries? This is what Madmen and Fools explores. Tomorrow’s People walks on eggshells. It is a rough local take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet but with a twist. But what excites us most is that we will be discussing our own experiences with our own people. Nothing beats that experience.
To be honest we miss rehearsals. We miss performing. We miss seeing schools travelling many kilometres to the theatre to see our performances. We miss the excitement of announcement we have a full-house! And all this can happen when Covid-19 goes. Remember we are not out of the woods yet. We must continue to mask up and sanitise and social distance. Stay safe.
