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Title Theatre-for-development in Zimbabwe: the Ziya Theatre Company production of Sunrise
Full text http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-08222013-102416/
Date 2013
Author(s) Rukuni, Samuel
Contributor(s) Prof D Medalie
Abstract This dissertation for the M.A. in Creative Writing consists of a full-length play, titled Last Laugh and a mini-dissertation. The mini-dissertation explores the phenomenon of Theatre-for-Development, which differs significantly from the performance tradition of classical African drama. The study identifies ways in which Theatre-for-Development practitioners, animators or catalysts, (interchangeable names given to agents who teach target community members theatre-for-development skills) abandon the conventions of classical African drama performances, in terms of the form of plays, stage management and costumes. They find different and less formal ways to tackle the social problems which the target communities experience. The origins of Classical African drama are traced from the western tradition, from which it borrows heavily, and there is some discussion of the socio-historical conditions that prevailed during the time when African playwrights performed those plays, and the rise of nationalism in colonised African states, which in part influenced their production. This study then examines how the socio-political dynamics in the Zimbabwean post-farm-invasions era gave rise to Theatre-for-Development projects in the newly resettled farming communities that faced social development challenges. Despite the land gains peasants enjoyed, the resettled communities found themselves in places far away from schools, hospitals, shops and social service centres. That was the source of their problems. It will be shown how government sponsored Theatre-for-Development groups to mobilise the people, through theatre, to initiate home-groomed solutions to their social and economic problems during a time when the government was bankrupt and the countrys economy was shattered by the destruction of the agricultural and mining sectors, triggered by the invasions of the white commercial farms. The Ziya Community Theatres production of Sunrise is analysed in the light of these considerations. © 2012 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria Please cite as follows: Rukuni, S 2012, Last laugh - Theatre-for-development in Zimbabwe: the Ziya Theatre Company production of Sunrise, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-08222013-102416 / > F13/4/749/gm
Subject(s) English
Language en-uk
Publisher University of Pretoria
Type of publication text
Format application/pdf
Source http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-08222013-102416/
Rights unrestricted; I hereby certify that, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report (
Repository Pretoria - University of Pretoria, Theses and Dissertations
Added to C-A: 2017-03-10;15:13:06