One of
the perks of being an arts journalist is
the very fact that you get to see theatre productions, exhibitions, gigs among many other things and you go for free. For me, that's great but
the freebies aside, I appreciate when a theatre production has substance to it. Lately, I have enjoyed
the very fact that my passion for African theatre has been re-ignited. I have seen some great productions this year. From
Iya-Ile at
the Soho theatre to Wole Soyinka's,
Death and The King's Horsemen at
the National. It has been a big splash of African theatre on
the British theatre landscape.
Even
the Independent newspaper acknowledged that it was cool to do African theatre. '
Out of Africa: Award-winning African plays find a new home in British theatres' Give it Up!
It isn't
the accolades or recognition that has me rooting for African theatre. I would like to interject at this point and tell you that I am a very proud African lady living in London.
So, let's continue. What has re-ignited my passion is
the very fact that we are telling our stories, we are able to laugh at ourselves, our nuances and idiosyncrasies. At
the same time, we are creating platforms to have a debate and discussion about
the motherland. We are taking a mirror and putting it up to examine
the good,
the bad and
the ugly and please don’t forget
the struggles.
I saw
Bad Blood Blues at Theatre Royal, Stratford. It was a production about
the HIV anti-viral trials in Africa and
the load of horseshit bureaucracy that goes into who gets
the anti-vial and who gets
the trial drug and who gets nothing at all. I had to ask myself, how important is an African life compared to other parts of
the world when it comes to tackling
the HIV/Aids virus?
Karoo Moose by Lara Foot-Newton, a South African playwright was so good; I remember using
the word 'Ingenious' when
the birth of a child was depicted by a young lady coming out of a drum. It was so symbolic and at
the same time powerful. It was traditional theatre full of magical realism at its best and there was no dull moment.
Death and The Kings Horsemen by Wole Soyinka was outstanding. My history was on stage and it was great that they kept it very traditional. Nothing like talking drums to make you sway from side to side.
I could go on and on about
the shows I have seen this year but I'm sure you might think, okay, go on, say what you really want to say.
So, here it is. It is okay to write about African theatre and not be afraid of expressing what you feel or want to say about being African. I know some writers are nervous when they start out about boxing themselves but today, a young African dramatist told me in
the course of an interview, I am an African Playwright. I was impressed by that. Often, you get some saying, I am a playwright full stop. And yes, that is valid also because labels do stick. But there is nothing wrong with it if you decide to be identified by your heritage and body of work. After all, you are writing about Africa and Africans in
the diaspora. So, why can't we call you an African Playwright?
Picture Credit: Ruphin Coudyzer
