Agitprop, Part 5b
Drama and Poetry
Live drama and street theatre are always going to be part of
any study of Agitprop.
But in South Africa, the actual tradition of political
theatre that existed during the struggle against apartheid, and which was
associated with the actor/playwright Athol Fugard in particular, and with
the director Barney Simon, is practically
discontinued at the present time and for some years past, with the notable
exception of the efforts of actor/director/playwright John Kani.
Acting, directing, producing and all of the dramatic
performing arts continue to be cultivated in relation to film and television.
But live theatre as a mass phenomenon is hardly present in South African
streets and towns. Insofar as live drama does exist, it is usually in theatres
that are behind walls in Casino (gambling) complexes, while the theatres that
formerly prospered are often standing dark and neglected.
The great exponent of political drama, apart from William
Shakespeare, was the German communist Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956).
The effect of television has been to commodify and to render
unfruitful the impact of drama on the lives of the people. Television becomes
the wallpaper of our lives.
All of the above applies as well to stand-up comedy, variety
and cabaret, for the time being, and to Ballet and Classical Music, including Opera,
which flourish in socialist countries, but in South Africa are elite pursuits.
In the apartheid years there was a performing group called Amandla Cultural Ensemble, also known as
the Amandla Group. It was high quality and it made a great impact. The Amandla
Group were recorded as musicians, and there is at least one clip of them on
YouTube.
Apart from the casino theatres, drama and live performance
art are probably only being practised in schools, colleges and universities in
South Africa. The extent to which drama and the other performance arts are
taught in South Africa, we do not know, but we would expect that the graduates
would mainly be headed for the television production studio and related industries,
in any case.
Poetry
Poetry is something that continues to have a life. People
are still writing poetry and performing it, live. Comrades sometimes publish
their poems on the Communist University. Poetry lives, and is ready to have its
day again.
- The above is to
introduce our reading-text on Song, Dance,
Drama and Poetry.
