Many theatre artists and media outlets assume that theatre refrains from addressing political and human rights. In my discussion with Bright Chayachaya the founder and director of Umunthu Theatre, we talked about the politics of intermediality in Malawian theatre and Umunthu’s critical production: Sometimes in July, written by Innocent Katsache. Umunthu Theatre has been at the center of producing plays that discuss critical issues in society like politics and human rights revolutions. Our discussion navigates divergent theories of Malawian theatre in an attempt to understand how politics interrelate with human rights discourse in the democratic state.
Fumbani Innot Phiri Jr.: What is Sometimes in July about?
Bright Chayachaya: Sometimes in July by Innocent Katsache is a recollection of events of the July 20, 2011 demonstrations that led to the killing of twenty people—however it is told from the perspective of a local common man who is just a victim of the system. Basically, we wanted to tell a story about how Malawi’s current state was built. So the show dives into economic and social challenges that the nation faced due to the repressive regime that was ruling in 2011.
Fumbani: Why did you choose to stage Sometimes in July ten years after the July 20th demonstrations occurred?
Bright: It was basically a thought I had after a discussion with Tawonga Taddja Nkhonjera, the curator of the space we were provided by organizers of Theatre in Mandala, which is under Jacaranda Cultural Centre. My idea was for them to provide a space for a show in November 2019. We saw this piece as opportunity to commemorate the fallen heroes of the demonstrations, as the date fell three days before July 20th, exactly ten years after the catastrophe. Basically it was a way of commemorating the fallen heroes and a space for us to stimulate dialogue on the demonstrations that occurred.
So in 2019, the essence of staging Sometimes in July was through many reflections of the political tension that was happening after the irregularities of the Malawian presidential elections. Every week, the streets were filled with political and human rights protestors demonstrating and exercising their freedom of expression. We didn’t want to leave that behind and as Youth Developers Collaboration (YDC) Theatre was busy touring with Wasted Adjective, we thought it wise to join in on what YDC Theatre was doing and staging Sometimes in July was the key.
Fumbani: How was crafting the adaptation different from the original production? Would you explain the details of the different phases of the process—specifically story development, casting, rehearsals, contributions, and the final work?
Bright: We basically adopted the same story that was created six years ago by drama students, among them script writer Innocent Katsache, for their classwork at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi. We made a few adjustments to the original show to suit the current social and political climate of Malawi. In the same vein, we avoided removing important plot elements from the play. As a director, I believe in casting and working with people whose capabilities I’m familiar with, so I simply approached people I already knew to perform in it—except for two actors who I worked with for the first time on this production.
True to my premonition, I had challenges in advancing my ideas with them. We had one of the most difficult rehearsal processes, as I was working with a team of people who do all sorts of stuff apart from theatre. Because of this, at times, an actor would skip rehearsals which meant we could only concentrate on the roles of the actors who were available. This was even more challenging because the actors were playing multiple characters. But all in all, we managed to showcase the piece.
Crafting the production was ideal as I am used to working on improvised presentations and it was very easy to shift from style to style with minimal use of props and set. I focused on using imaginary props and a mimicking acting style. It was challenging having to block a show on a round stage with actors who were used to proscenium stages, but they adapted quickly to my blocking.
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This is an interesting and relevant interview about theatre in Malawi. I think it is interesting to see you the young generation forging ahead with new ways of presenting theatre to the people despite old gurus resisting. I would encourage you not to get discouraged. The old gurus may eventually learn something from you too.