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Theatre in the Service of Health Education: Case Studies from Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2009

Marion Frank
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Abstract

International organizations are increasingly turning to theatre as a means of raising development issues, exploring options, and influencing behaviour. This paper examines some structures and techniques inherent in this type of applied theatre, analyzing two plays used to supplement AIDS education programmes in Uganda. One is a video production by a typical urban popular theatre group, while the second production analyzed exemplifies the Theatre for Development approach through its sub-genre, Campaign Theatre, used to raise awareness on health issues, hygiene, sanitation, child care, and the environment. The study analyzes the performance of the two plays and addresses some contradictions arising from the involvement and influence of external organizations. Marion Frank is a graduate of Bayreuth University in Germany, whose extensive field research has resulted in the publication of AIDS Education through Theater (Bayreuth African Studies Series, Bayreuth, 1995). Dr. Frank is currently living in the US, where as a Visiting Scholar at Duke University she is now working on a research project aiming to establish a closer link between literary/cultural studies and medicine/medical anthropology.

Type
Research Article
Information
New Theatre Quarterly , Volume 12 , Issue 46 , May 1996 , pp. 108 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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References

Notes and References

1. Among critics, theatre practitioners, and development workers, there exist various names for this kind of theatre: Development Theatre, Theatre for Development, Popular Theatre, Community Theatre, Participatory Theatre, Theatre for the People, People's Theatre. In my opinion, Theatre for Development (TFD) is a more precise term, since it implies that its primary concern is the promotion of development in a specific community – albeit through the use of popular theatre. For a more detailed discussion of the term see Hagher, Iyorwuese Harry, ed., The Practice of Community Theatre in Nigeria (Jos: Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists, 1990)Google Scholar.

2. Ross Kidd describes popular theatre as ‘a means of expression which has traditionally been used to educate the young, unify the community, and articulate the commonly felt concerns and spirations of the people. … Popular theatre builds on an educational approach and means of communication which is already familiar to and accepted by the community. It is their spontaneous means of education and grassroots communication’. See Kidd, Ross, ‘Popular Theatre and Nonformal Education in the Third World: Five Strands of Experience’, in Eyoh, Hansel Ndumbe, Beyond the Theatre (Bonn: German Foundation for International Development, 1991), p. 3Google Scholar. For a more detailed discussion of the term popular, see Cooper, Frederick, ‘Who Is the Populist?’, African Studies Review, XXX, No. 3 (09 1987)Google Scholar; Barber, Karin ‘Popular Arts in Africa’, African Studies Review, XXX, No. 3 (09 1987)Google Scholar.

3. Desai, Gaurav, ‘Theatre as Praxis: Discursive Strategies in African Popular Theatre’, African Studies Review, XXXI, No. 1 (04 1990), p. 68Google Scholar.

4. Bogatyrev, Petr, The Functions of Folk Costume in Moravian Slovakia (The Hague; Paris: Mouton, 1971)Google Scholar.

5. In order fully to understand plays dealing with AIDS information, one has to keep in mind that there are two different notions of promiscuity which should not be confused. One is the traditional Ugandan view-point, the other the western perspective. Before colonialism, Ganda society used to have a very strict moral system with laws that had to be observed by every-body. Sexual relationships outside marriage were regarded as morally wrong and unacceptable. Polygamy, however, was/is accepted, which conflicts with the Christian demand for monogamy. To the mission-aries, traditional Ganda society appeared promiscuous, whereas to the Baganda themselves life was defined according to a rigid and functioning moral system. It is important to keep in mind, however, that in the Ugandan context promiscuity refers to prostitution, not to polygamy. It makes perfect sense, therefore, to repre-sent promiscuity as something bad, and to suggest going back to the original system of norms and values. Polygamy would thus be safe sexual behaviour, as long as everybody observed the rules and had no sexual relation-ships outside marriage. Due to interactions between the cultures, and also to the influence of Christianity, these two notions are now confused by both Westerners and Ugandans. Nevertheless, it appears important to state them, because they have a direct impact on the effectiveness of a play.

6. A Report on APAU Workshop, 25–27 September 1989 (IEC-ACP).

7. The term ‘zero-grazing’ is derived from cattle breeding where it refers to cattle being kept on one's own property. In the AIDS campaign it is used as a slogan promoting fidelity.

8. Petr Bogatyrev ‘The Erotic Function of Costume’, in The Function of Folk Costume, p. 75–7.

9. Sempebwa, Joshua W.. African Traditional Moral Norms and their Implication for Christianity: a Case Study of Ganda Ethics (St. Augustin: Steyler Verlag, 1983)Google Scholar.

10. A ‘kansu’ is a long, kaftan-like white garment worn by Ganda men. A ‘kikoye’ is a colourful wrapper, usually in the colours red and yellow. Ganda women wear it underneath their traditional ‘busuti’, a long dress with a wide skirt.

11. In 1991 the School Health Education Project of the Ministry of Education and UNICEF jointly launched a nationwide drama competition in primary schools. One play containing the AIDS message, The Riddle, was to be performed by all the primary schools in the country. Another attempt to reach more communities with AIDS information was made by the Ugandan pop-star Philly Lutaaya, who died of AIDS. Having learned that he was suffering from AIDS, he initiated an extensive AIDS-information campaign which included media other than theatre – video- and audio-cassettes, concerts, and other public appearances. As long as his health allowed he travelled all over the country to reach even remote areas with his message. The aim of Campaign Theatre to reach many people as well as the technological progress which allows for the integration of video, film, cassettes etc., suggests that Philly Lutaaya's campaign set the tone for the future. Several NGOs show videos of plays about AIDS on information tours through the country.

12. Epskamp, Kees P., Theatre in Search of Social Change (The Hague: CESO, 1989), p. 170Google Scholar.

13. For a comprehensive survey of techniques and strategies of Theatre for Development, see Mlama, Penina Muhando, Culture and Development: the Popular Theatre Approach in East Africa (Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1991)Google Scholar. Hagher, Harry Iyorwuese, ed., in The Practice of Community Theatre in Nigeria (Jos: Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists, 1990)Google Scholar, discusses various approaches of Theatre for Development. Accounts of popular urban theatre and Theatre for Development in Uganda include Breitinger, Eckhard, ‘Popular Urban Theatre in Uganda: Between Self-Help and Self-Enrichment’, New Theatre Quarterly, No. 31 (1992), p. 270–90Google Scholar; ‘Agitprop for a Better World: Development Theatre Movement’, Signs and Signals: Popular Culture in Africa, ed Granqvist, Raoul (Umea, 1990), p. 93–120Google Scholar; ‘Theatre in Uganda: Animation zur Nachahmung’, DFG-Forschung, No. 2 (1993), p. 14–17; ‘Theatre and Political Mobilization: Case Studies from Uganda’, Matatu, No. 11 (1994), p. 155–70. My own survey of Theatre for Development, especially AIDS plays, is Frank, Marion, AIDS Education through Theater: a Uganda Study, ‘Bayreuth African Studies’ series (1995)Google Scholar.