• About us
  • Contribute Content
  • Donate
Friday, June 24, 2022
  • Login
  • Register
The African Theatre Magazine
  • Home
    • About us
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • People
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The African Theatre Magazine
  • Home
    • About us
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • People
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The African Theatre Magazine
No Result
View All Result

How theatre can help young Nigerians who are living with HIV

The African Theatre Magazine by The African Theatre Magazine
December 27, 2020
in Opinion, Features
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterWhatsapp

Nasarawa state in the north-central region of Nigeria is known for agriculture, salt mining, and one of the higher waterfalls in Africa. It has also consistently registered one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Nigeria with an HIV prevalence of 7.5% compared to the national average of 4.1%. As part of a strategy to tackle the epidemic, the Nasarawa state government decided to employ theatre to raise awareness.

Theatre and radio drama are often tools for education because they are meaning-making processes that can empower audiences to think differently and make informed decisions to solve problems– such as the stigma around HIV.

See also: Vuka Machel is a physical theatre masterclass!

HIV is as much a social phenomenon as it is a medical one. It can elicit stigma, ostracism, repression and discrimination. Many affected by HIV have been rejected by their families, loved ones, and communities. But it has also shown itself capable of triggering responses of compassion, solidarity, and support, of bringing out the best in people, their families, and their communities.

Stigma is usually viewed as the discrimination or negative attitudes that people with HIV face from others. But in the play Talk to Me, which toured secondary schools in the Nasarawa region, the focus was on self-stigma – or how those living with and affected by HIV and AIDS negatively view themselves.

My study as a participant–observer in the play Talk to Me, created by the Skul Konekt project, investigates the theatre techniques employed to create awareness about the negative effect of self-stigmatisation. I also spoke with government officials, learners (generally aged 13 to 17), parents and teachers during discussions – or talkback sessions – of the play after performances, as well as with producers of the play.

I found that the play was able to create brave and safe spaces for conversation around a theme that can be very personal and quite challenging.

See also: Zimbabwean Theatre after Lockdown: What’s the Way Forward?

Meet  Aggio and Abachi

Talk to Me tells the story of two friends, Aggio and Abachi. Aggio is gullible and naïve when it comes to the subject of sexuality, while Abachi is the opposite. He strives to enlighten Aggio – and to lighten him up.

Abachi is adventurous but wayward. His father, a single parent, is blind and poor. He is also HIV positive and Abachi acquires HIV while using a razor to cut his father’s hair. Unhappy that his friend Aggio is HIV negative, Abachi vows to set Aggio on the wrong path.

Through Abachi’s deception, Aggio eventually acquires HIV by sleeping with Lydia, a promiscuous girl who is a victim of rape and who plans to take revenge on her male classmates despite the pleas from her friend.

This bold plot employed numerous theatre techniques that allowed it to resonate with its audience, and for them to cast judgements aside. In my study I highlight some of them.

Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful cultural and dramatic tool for expression. In Talk to Me it helped in creating a safe space to discuss self-esteem, self-perception and the negative effects of stereotyping people.

See also: Community Theatre Is Not Amateurish – Rashida Namulondo

During the writing workshop for the play, Paul Ugbede, the playwright and coordinator, reiterated that his use of the storytelling technique was geared towards both “entertaining and teaching the audience.” His aim was also to “preserve cultural values.” In the process of devising the play, the actors shared HIV-related stories to deepen one another’s understanding and create ideas for the talkback session.

The entire story is told from Aggio’s perspective. He takes the audience on a journey into his past and explains his present circumstances. His narrative reveals that in spite of the trauma that accompanies living with HIV, holding a strong, positive perception of oneself is imperative. Aggio finds his friends, classmates, and even parents are stigmatising him.

Aggio: Don’t talk to me! You see what you have caused? I am positive! All my friends have left me! I can’t go to school anymore. People point at me and run away. They call me a dead man.

Aggio’s plight in the story evoked audience feedback, with many learners interacting with Aggio’s character afterwards. Their comments centred on ways Aggio could live a fulfilled life despite his HIV status. This gave the audience the opportunity to imagine ways in which Aggio could live positively and invest his time and effort in things that made him happy.

See also: Uganda’s Elvania Namukwaya who Broke the Glass Ceiling of Theatre

Humour and Language

Talk to Me was embedded in humour to create a relaxed atmosphere because the story is intense and emotional. The theme of self-stigma could easily create an atmosphere of pressure, tension, and emotional anxiety.

Comic situations, characters, and dialogue facilitated a safe and positive atmosphere for the audience. The dialogue was interspersed with pidgin – a slang or Creole English widely spoken in Nigeria. This allowed learners to relate easily to the characters.

During talkback sessions, too, we found that pidgin was the most effective way to communicate – along with Hausa, a colloquial language in Nasarawa state. Participants expressed themselves freely during discussion.

One of the learners, for example, observed that understanding a subject – walking in Aggio’s shoes – is important in taking a position. He said that people consider many situations life-threatening and hopeless, but if we can look at the positive side of things, we will gain strength.

Humour is an integral part of his arrival at this conclusion. It breaks down barriers and thus enriches interaction and effective communication.

See also: In Their Words is a Harbinger of Things to Come

Roleplay

Use was also made of the theatre technique of role-playing or assuming the role of someone else.

In the talkback, the actor-teachers role-played the fear of some teenagers who are living with HIV. This affects their communication with their peers and can lead to seclusion and – ultimately – a shortened life span.

The power of theatre

One of the powers of theatre is its ability to critique the status quo by highlighting the paradoxes, contradictions, and hypocrisy of power. Through storytelling, play building and scenarios, audiences gained new meanings and connections around living with HIV.

I do not claim that theatre solved the problem of self-stigma. Rather, it provided the space for progressive thinking and a solution-driven narrative. This is because theatre can engender participation, collaboration, communication and critical consciousness. These are essential tools in fostering behaviour change.

Theatre can empower people by co-creating knowledge. It allows audiences to take ownership of their experiences as they participate in ways that can foster envisioning new realities and new paradigms for people living with HIV.

This article was originally published by  The Conversation and had been reposted with permission from the author. Read original article here.

By Taiwo Afolabi

Taiwo Afolabi is an artist-researcher-educator who researches, creates works, performs, and teaches at the intersection of performance and human ecology.

The African Theatre Magazine

The African Theatre Magazine

Related Posts

Tonderai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad & Me (photos by Jane Hobson)
Features

In Tonderai Munyevu’s Mugabe, My Dad & Me, the Personal Becomes the Political

March 18, 2022
170
The futureStage Manifesto was written by the futreStage Research Group at Harvard metaLAB.*
Features

A Manifesto for the Future Stage: Performance Is a Human Right

December 15, 2021
88
Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother, diected by Dr. Julisa Rowe (Photo by Philip Ondeng)
Features

Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother, My Backstage Experience

December 11, 2021
173
Next Post
Xova written and directed by Joseph Kumani at the Market Theatre ( Photos by Lungelo Mbulwana)

XOVA, arguably one of the best productions of 2020!

What people are saying

More Reads

  • People
  • Opinion
  • Festivals
  • Reviews
ADVERTISEMENT

Popular Reads

  • Uganda's Theatre pioneer Elvania Namukwaya Zirimu

    Uganda’s Elvania Namukwaya who Broke the Glass Ceiling of Theatre

    887 shares
    Share 623 Tweet 110
  • Robert Serumaga: The Pantheon of Uganda’s Theatre in the ‘70s

    303 shares
    Share 121 Tweet 76
  • Namasagali College: How the School Became Uganda’s Arts Hub

    494 shares
    Share 328 Tweet 69
  • 10 Masterpieces in Ugandan Theatre

    658 shares
    Share 492 Tweet 69
  • Rose Mbowa of ‘Mother Uganda’ and Her Theatre

    400 shares
    Share 255 Tweet 61

Follow us on Twitter

Tweets by @AfriTheatreMag

FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM

  • #TheatreThrowback: 1987The late Rose Mbowa ( poet, actress, playwright, and director) in the famous 🎭Maama Nalukalukalu n’ezadde lye at the National Theatre in Kampala, Uganda in 1987.📸 Photo courtesyThe African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInUganda 🇺🇬
#TheatreInAfrica
#TBT
  • The Theatre term for this week is; Grips#TheatreInAfrica
#TheatreTerms
  • #AfricanTheatreCompanies this week we take a look at the Bakayimbira Dramactors 🇺🇬Bakayimbira Dramactors started in 1982 and it is still alive and kicking with the three founding members still together and active (Kibuuka Andrew Benon,Charles James Senkubuge and Aloysius Matovu Joy).The Bakayimbira is Uganda’s finest and Oldest most active drama company. A group of professional people who have delivered strong messages across society and all ages through drama.Bakayimbira Dramactors have won all the Possible Drama Awards that can be won on the local scene including the Uganda at 50 presidential Gold medals for outstanding contribution in the Field of art to 7 members of the group.The group was also named the Best Local Drama group by the Kabaka (King) of Buganda and were officially thanked by the King in the event of celebrating the Buganda Health Day that was held on Sat the 9th  day of November 2013 for their extraordinary fight against AIDS done in their Play Ndiwulira.Bakayimbira’s productions cut across society and they are for all ages and are remembered for their strong messages found therein because dramas are not written just for laughs but with a purpose of being a mirror of Society in bid to shape humanity for the better.Bakayimbira Dramactors have produced a number of  productions over the space of 40 Years and 3 of them are set books for students taking Luganda at “O”Level and University.The group  is more than a drama group, they have a real school called Bakayimbira School of Performing Arts (BASPA) which trains people in different performing skills.Some of the Productions by Bakayimbira dramactors include; Akasabattuko (1990), Kigenya Agenya (1993), Ndiwulira (1991), Mutute Nolwoo Lugwe (2012), Ndiwulira (2013), Dona Bella (2014), Baalagawa? (2016), Bongo Munsi Ya Bongo (2017), Agaali Amakula (2018), Majambere (2019), Bukedde Banyanike (2019), Amattansejjere (2020), Gayuguuma (2022) among others.Images copyright © by Bakayimbira Dramactors#TheatreInUganda 🇺🇬
#TheatreInAfrica
#BakayimbiraDramactors
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week 🇧🇮Irivuga Arts Company and Buja Sans Tabou  present 🎭 Les Larmes de CrocodileA unique piece! Fruit of an intensive dance and theatre training with Le Grand CruDate: June 25th to 26th June 2022
Time: 18H00
Fee: 5000 FBU & 10,000 FBU
Venue: Buja Sans TabouThe African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInBurundi
#TheatreInAfrica
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week. 🇿🇼GRD presents Phantom🎭, rendition of phantom of the OperaDirected by Khally Sibanda
Venue: Zimbabwe Academy of Music
Times: 24/06/22 1800hrs
25/06/22 1400hrs
25/06/22  1800hrs
Admin: $5SynopsisPhantom is based on a classical novel Le Fantome de L´Ópera by Gaston Leroux. Phantom tells a story of a masked figure who lucks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. One of the main moral teachings of the story is that love between two people cannot be forced. It also highlights the need for every human to be loved. Those two concepts meet in the form of Phantom, who is a fierce, one-sided and possessive love for Christine forcing her to marry him.The African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInZimbabwe 🇿🇼
#TheatreInAfrica
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week 🇧🇫
Espace Culturel Gambidi  presents 🎭The World
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week. 🇳🇬Just theatre house and @terrakulture present 🎭The two both of us  by Paul Ugbede and directed by Ifeanyi EziukwuA beautiful stage play depicting issues happening in Relationships/Marriages today
From trust issues to sex, finance, emotional  stress EtC
Happening everyweekend in the month of June @Terra Kulture, V.I, Lagos.
1st Show : 5:30 PM
2nd Show: 7:30 PM
Venue: Terra Kulture ( Outdoor Theatre )Tickets:5k single, 9k Couple..
Tickets Available @ *Terra Kulture*Orhttps://www.ariiyatickets.com/event/the-two-both-of-us/The African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInNigeria 🇳🇬
#TheatreInAfrica
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week 🇿🇦The South African State Theatre and Education, Youth & Children’s Theatre department proudly presents#YEF2022 |  Gqum Phantsi written & directed by Aqhama NgoziGqum Phantsi is folklore tale that speaks to every African child reminding them of self, encouraging individuality whilst teaching about the disadvantage of relying on gossip. The play aim is to work on the factors that lead to bullying such as hearsay, the feeling of being small or unseen and body shaming.BOOK https://bit.ly/getYEF2022ticketsDate: 21-23  June 2022
Tickets: R80The African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInSouthAfrica🇿🇦
#TheatreInAfrica
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week 🇿🇦The South African State Theatre,Education, Youth & Children’s Theatre department proudly presents#YEF2022 | GravelandGraveland is a provocative artistic response to the turmoil of xenophobic attacks that have been taking place in South Africa. It tells the story of African families who have been affected by these injustices, who therefore seek to mend their wounds but the attempts seem to make the situation worse.BOOK https://bit.ly/getYEF2022ticketsDate: 25th & 26th June 2022
Tickets: R80The African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInSouthAfrica🇿🇦
#TheatreInAfrica
  • #OnTheAfricanTheatreStage this week 🇿🇦The South African State Theatre Education, Youth & Children’s Theatre department proudly presents#YEF2022 |  Death of My Womb
Directed & choreographed by Peter Human24-year-old Zandile embarks on a journey from Kimberly to Johannesburg trying to find greener pastures, leaving behind her grandmother who, in trying to assist her reach her goals refers her to an old friend, Gogo Phumzile. Upon Zandile’s arrival, Gogo Phumzile learns of her sexuality and resents her for it, she is determined to “change her”.BOOK https://bit.ly/getYEF2022ticketsDate: 22-24 June 2022
Tickets: R80The African Theatre Magazine
#TheatreInSouthAfrica🇿🇦
#TheatreInAfrica
Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube

Become a partner/Sponsor our work. Email tuvugafritheatre@gmail.com

© 2019 - The African Theatre Magazine - Developer.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • People
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Donate

© 2019 - The African Theatre Magazine - Developer.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
OR

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Donate
Contribute