EDUCATIONAL, EMOTIONAL EVOKING ‘THE CHANGE’ SESSIONS

MBABANE – Lights, action and emotions! The second sessions of locally produced drama ‘The Change’, evoked intense emotions while educating last Friday at the Swaziland Theatre Club in Mbabane. It was hosted by the Association of Swaziland Theatre Groups (ASTG), Swaziland Theatre Club and Arterial Network Swaziland.

The scene of the 50-minute drama which stared at 7.45pm, portrayed the normal life of a Swazi polygamous homestead where the financially enriched men takes women for granted. Mahlobo, the head of the family with two wives, LaSimelane and LaTsabedze, physically and emotionally abuses his wives while bringing lovers into his home. Not only has Mahlobo, who is also a Member of Parliament, brought the burden of having multiple sexual partners into his home but he ritually killed his first born son to be rich and get re-elected.

These scenes moved the over 40 people who attended the moving drama, as it related to the matters that people deal with everyday.
Also, the play advocated for the approval of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill, which has been making headlines in the country. ‘The Change’ also strongly protested against ritual killings.
The dramatic script for the play  was written by Maswati Dludlu and directed by Thembinkosi Mthethwa, both well-known in the theatre circles, and have international exposure in the industry. The main cast included talented local actors/actresses, Samkelo Dlamini, Lokuhle Dlamini, Debbie Simelane, Sabatha Masuku and Lwazi Kunene.

Other partners who saw this project through are the UN agencies  Civil Society sector. ASTG Secretary General Thembinkosi Mthethwa said he was humbled that people were attending the sessions which took place for three days, starting last Thursday, Friday and finally closing Saturday.

“We have two main aims, the first being to revive theatre in the country, as it had slowly faded and was clearly on the path of a slow death. We are producing plays and we will be hosting shows monthly until people get acquainted with theatre plays again and support this initiative,” said Mthethwa.

He added that their other aim was to educate while entertaining. It is for that reason that they are tackling sensitive  issues that they see Swazi people deal with on an everyday basis.
 “ I know many  people can relate to the stories we portray. The scripts are based on issues that the average Swazi family goes through but hardly talks about. Abuse is real and we need to start teaching people the difference between practising tradition and abusing others using tradition as a shield,” he said.

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