Creating democratic spaces through theatre: the case of speak out!

Abstract

A few years into Zimbabwe’s independence, there were disturbances in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces, resulting in the massacre of about 20,000 unarmed civilians in what has become known as the Gukurahundi. The atrocities ended with the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987. The government has, however, refused any culpability in the matter and has muted dialogue around the issue. To explore ways of speaking about the Gukurahundi issue and of aiding the grieving process for the second-generation sufferers of the Gukurahundi, I worked with a group of young people to devise and stage theatre on this emotive subject. This chapter reports and reflects on the activities involved in devising and staging Speak Out! phase one and phase two plays. It also identifies and discusses challenges and opportunities that lie in using theatre to create democratic spaces within silencing and oppressive structures. The chapter is framed within decoloniality theory as envisioned by Walter Mignolo. I argue that devised theatre is rich with potential to create democratic spaces that can give a platform for telling stories of pain and suffering when the mainstream media and channels are closed for such. I observe that techniques such as improvisation, storytelling and use of songs, when deployed during the devising process, assisted in creating a social and aesthetic space to speak about the Gukurahundi issues, creating a potential for helping those who are grieving.