Power of theatre put to test
IN MY interactions with playwrights, actors, actresses as well directors and producers within theatre circles, one common phrase they love saying is that “theatre is a tool to address issues in society, leading to dialogue that results in behavioural change”.
Quite fascinating I must say considering that most of the plays are done in theatres detached from the masses and nowadays the attendance levels have dropped drastically. Nonetheless, today is an exciting day as the aforementioned phrase is being put to test in the old town of Highfield.
The newly established Theatre PaBridge sees theatre practitioners battling to disseminate their gospel of encouraging people to quit drugs as their very audience is made up of zvigunduru (vagabonds) and drug addicts who openly retaliate whenever the actors speak against drug abuse. When Sunday Mail Society visited the theatre venue during celebrations of Day of The African Child on June 16, we witnessed this astonishing contrast as part of the audience would react angrily in loud cheers and whistles whenever the children presenting their plays said “no to drugs”.
The question now becomes, will theatre prevail in bringing forth change in this community or is the aforementioned phrase just a myth? We spoke to Edzai Isu Trust and Theatre PaBridge founder, Tafadzwa Muzondo:
“You have raised a very pertinent question whose answer defines us as a transformative arts organisation. Our work at Theatre PaBridge is a litmus test that we are taking head on and I am happy that we have found a place in this community to be able to instil responsibility through creativity and opportunity.
“Believe you me, when we first came onto the scene it was worse but we have started a process that will rally different stakeholders to achieve the intended impact. I want to hasten to say that as artistes we do not always prescribe solutions but provide a rallying point for society to find itself and develop itself.”
Muzondo added that as a trust they will soldier using entertainment to bring change in their communities.
“Our theory of change at Theatre PaBridge is the use of entertainment for engagement, empowerment and development so we are pleased that relevant stakeholders made it to the Theatre PaBridge field visit last Friday as we continue in our process.
“The fact that we are establishing a community theatre space while maintaining the original purpose of opening the bridge for public use makes it imperative for us to work with relevant law enforcement departments in both local and central government.
“We are not all out for war with the same community that we intend to serve but there has to be compliance with national laws and local by-laws, and from the awareness we have been raising over the past four months, we are confident that most will and those that do not, relevant stakeholders will assist them to comply,” he added.
To date Muzondo and team have managed to engage with council officials and the officer in charge of Machipisa Police Station to have first-hand experience of the goings-on at the bridge and identify areas that require their intervention.
Highlighting on the impact they have made since they started operating at their new home, Muzondo said: “Generally, transformative theatre is not confrontational to the targeted communities but rather attempts to tell their stories thus bringing them to explore and transform their lives.
“The message is filtering through gradually and the impact is flickering through some self regulation of some sort. By the time all systems are in place with the relevant stakeholders playing their role, we will have a drug and alcohol free zone at Theatre PaBridge, which will transcend to other public places as a success story.
“That is why I said that our presence at the bridge as a transformative arts organisation puts to test the essence of transformative arts and we are confident to become a bridge of community responsibility and opportunity through creativity.”
Though there is still a lot of work to be done on the bridge, Muzondo and team have to be commended for their hard work as the bridge, which had been abandoned and become a hideout for thieves and drug dealers is now open to the public.
“We started off with an awareness campaign before embarking on a clean-up of the bridge and ground breaking ceremony where we unveiled a clean bridge and our vision to the Highfield community.
“The process has not been as fast as we dreamt but we are definitely moving and have so far managed to complete the arts kiosk enclosure as we develop the theatre side which has been operating as an open air theatre for the past four months hosting shows that include theatre, music, dance, poetry and comedy every Friday and Saturday.
“Our intention is to build a community arts space not just in the sense of brick and mortar but also in the sense of building a community, a family that shares responsibility, opportunity and creativity so we have realised for instance that our original plan of a 200-seater closed theatre would not work so we are now looking at establishing a multi purpose theatre space,” said Muzondo.
Theatre PaBridge has so far hosted established Zimbabwean artistes like Albert Nyathi, Kireni Zulu, Tryson Chimbetu, Progress Chipfumo, Edith WeUtonga, Douglas Chimbetu, Franco Slomo, Jiggaz and an international band Sa Roy & The Forest Jam Band.