Theatre In South African Theatre

1205 Words3 Pages

South African theatre originated in the rich and really old oral tradition of innate, ancient South Africans. It basically started with the folk tales around the fires, with their drama, and an audience ranging from the children to the elders.
Performances on stage came much later.
White South African theatre was influenced the most by 20th-century missionaries. They introduced drama in education which made an important contribution to the tradition of theatre. Their themes were biblical teachings, but also educational plays located in South Africa. The production of comedies and the dramatised versions of Zulu narratives were heavily encouraged by Father Barnard Hess, one of the missionaries.
Traditional South African theatre is derived from the original version of “theatre” in South Africa which refers to the performances of our ancestors (mostly black people). For example the Zulus had dancing, singing and stories they would tell around the fire. The villagers would watch and it was their form of entertainment and culture. The elements of this type of theatre, such as the style of dance and music are still used in modern South African theatre. The facets of traditional theatre still play a large role in the evolution of South African theatre.
Western theatre in South Africa was introduced by Huguenot settlers that brought the influence of Calvinism which lead the whites to thinking that theatre was wicked or evil. Personally I understand why they could have thought of it as wicked because it was fear of the unknown really, because it wasn’t of their specific religion and so they saw it as opposing their religion. It was only a bit later that theatre in education was brought about by missionaries and it changed their views on...

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...re people were getting tired of the political and economic state of the country.
Protest theatre is still used in South Africa and all over the world. I would like to think it is an effective form of protest. It is used now mostly to speak up against issues such as being gay, war, genocide, and social media even, to raise awareness and fight against social unrest. It has not faded or disappeared, it is still a relevant and effective type of theatre.

This assignment made me realise how much I love theatre and the arts. South African theatre has a certain originality that makes me proud to be South African. It has come a long way and in all honesty, if it wasn’t for Apartheid, I don’t think it would be as great as it is now. Not that I’m saying it was good, not at all, it just brought a rare art culture unique to South Africa.

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