Zimbabwean Protest Theatre Comes Out to Play

Irene Madonoko meets with actors who fled Zimbabwe to seek asylum in Britain and continue their craft.

Protest theatre has landed on our laps again. In South Africa, protest theatre was popular with black artists under the apartheid regime. South African theatre icon Jon Kani said it is the genre that became the voice of South Africa. And now Zimbabwean actors who are pressed to portray the upheaval in the country are being funnelled into this genre.

The appropriately named Theatre Under Fire Productions is a Zimbabwean community theatre group based in West Yorkshire. It was founded by artists who fled the country to seek asylum in Britain. This month they are performing a play Cry my Zimbabwe , which tells the story of three men who leave Zimbabwe for Britain, and end up at Yarlswood detention Centre, where they meet and are challenged to overcome prejudices in order to get by.

Irene Madonko spoke to cast members Peter Mutanda Wa-Ndebele (director), Kabelo Madonko and Edwin Mathe.

Does theatre have a place in Zimbabwe today?

PMN: You know the situation in Zimbabwe, we are at the height of dictatorship. Theatre is a mirror of what’s going on in Zimbabwe for people who are living with barrows, buckets and bags: they move with bags to scavenge whatever they can get in the bins, wheelbarrows whatever they can get to rebuild houses and buckets to get water wherever they can. We connect this situation to Zimbabweans who have left the country. Zimbabweans are peaceful, rather than fight they chose to leave. About 4 million have left.

Can artists perform freely in Zimbabwe?

PMN: No. Our theatre is protesting theatre. It is not wanted in Zimbabwe.

Do any actors or artists perform underground then?

PMN: I heard of a piece that Cont Mhlanga (Zimbabwean theatre director) has done. I believe it is about the incident this year when Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, was brutally assaulted by the police. They are taking this theatre piece to the people, rather than people coming to watch it.

If theatre is so dangerous in Zimbabwe, why do they do it?

PMN: It is an easy way to transform a message to people. Also, you can use other genres in it – such as music, dance and spoken word – like we did to come up with Cry my Zimbabwe. We are reaching out to people wherever they are: in their kitchens, churches. We take our bags and costumes and go.

Are your family concerned that you are into protest theatre?

PMN: My mom said she wishes me the best, but also warned me that this is a dangerous trade. I said that I’m lucky because I am out of Zimbabwe I can have a bit of freedom of speech.

Were you always into protest theatre?

PMN: I was into amateur theatre, but was not aware that it was protest theatre. I just thought we were acting what we were seeing. When I was about 17 or 18, I did a production called ‘Outburst’. It was about how war veterans were being neglected by the government (now, of course, the irony is how they are working with the government to give people a hard time!). After the show, three men approached me and said they were soldiers. I asked them if they liked the show, and they said: ‘No, not really. That’s why people die for things they don’t understand. You are too young, you have to stop it now.’ I later realised those men were actually CIO’s (intelligence police).

Why is this play relevant for a UK audience?

PMN: This is a message for people who have gone through the asylum system. We are the very people who have been oppressed and are telling the story of people who have left the country. People here slam asylum seekers for anything bad that happens i.e. crime. This play shows that asylum seekers are not here to live a comfortable life and get benefits. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, we miss our families, our home.

Why did you choose to locate the play in Yarlswood Detention Centre?

KM: This is a main detention centre where people would rather go on hunger strike than be deported. People in there say it kills your mind. The security guards, officers – people are not motivated. They have also experienced racism, and tribal conflict between Zimbabweans. The refugees have had to form an association called the United Network for Detained Zimbabweans. They sit together to form a strategy on what they can do to get themselves out of the centre. It is where they are kept before they are deported. This is the end of the road of Asylum.

What is the biggest challenge Zimbabwean asylum seekers here face?

KM: Some people can’t talk about their problems, they are both shy and afraid. Things like theatre helps bring these things out. After out play, we have a group discussion where people ask questions about issues surrounding Zimbabwe, in fact anything.

Do you know of other Zimbabweans here doing protest theatre?

KM: No. Zimbabweans are singing mainly for entertainment, to brush off their stress. When big musicians from Zimbabwe come perform here, they sing and entertain but they don’t touch on political issues. It could be because they are afraid when they go back home.

Would you encourage others to join protest theatre?

KM: We are open for people to join us. Once we conceive a story idea, we research the topic and workshop it before we perform it. We get good feedback from people.

How is it better for you here as compared to actors in Zimbabwe?

EM: We got schools, and you are exposed. It is a blessing working with people like Peter Mutanda Wa-Ndebele. Actors here have better facilities than in Africa, where theatre is not regarded as a profession but a hobby.

And is there anything you Zimbabwean actors here in the UK envy about your counterparts based in Zimbabwe?

EM: I envy their courage. They stay in those hardships, facing each day without food even. They also face hardship in their work: ordinary actors in Zimbabwe can’t buy trousers, let alone props or lighting.

So do they have any hope?

EM: They have the hope that one day Zimbabwe will be a democratic nation where artists will have the freedom to speak like in the UK. People need to see the play to understand that the hate that has been created in Zimbabwe does not work. We Zimbabweans need to work together to bring the glamour and peace that Zimbabwe had before.