Nicola Waite Dramatic Arts October 2021
THE ISLAND
PROTEST THEATRE
Starts off with:
• A social problem
• A political abuse
• A conservation issue
Aims to EFFECT A CHANGE
Structure:
o Episodic
o Linking devices
o Music
o Songs
o Dances
o Sound effects
o Superficial/stereotyped characters
o Simple plots
Features:
o Many localities
o Strives for an emotional response
o Poor techniques
o Sparse sets
o Innovative props
o Use of dispensable lighting
o Mime and vocal effects
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF PROTEST PLAYS:
➢ Message-driven
➢ Breaking of the 4th wall
➢ Singing, protest songs (draws the audience in emotionally)
➢ Immediate and urgent issues (must be performed as soon as possible because change is
required)
➢ Multifunctional use of props
➢ Didactic in intention and want an emotional connection
➢ Actor-centered
➢ Performed in found spaces
➢ Physical acting e.g., miming
➢ Exaggerated style
➢ Episodic structure to reinforce didactic nature of the play
➢ Existential philosophy
➢ Influence of other styles like Poor Theatre and Brecht
➢ Protest plays in SA were often workshopped
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, Nicola Waite Dramatic Arts October 2021
EPIC THEATRE IN RELATION TO SOUTH AFRICAN
PROTEST THEATRE
❖ Message-driven
❖ Use of narrator
❖ Banners, slides, captions to highlight message
❖ Breaking of 4th wall – actor addresses the audience directly
❖ Actor plays more than 1 role
❖ Actor demonstrates
❖ Bright white light
❖ House lights on
❖ Style is more externalized
❖ Use of protest songs
❖ Episodic structure
❖ Didactic and political
❖ Audience becomes an instigator of change
POOR THEATRE AND GROTOWSKI IN RELATION TO SOUTH AFRICAN
PROTEST THEATRE
→ All unnecessary theatrical elements eliminated
→ Sets are almost bare
→ Only basic and necessary costume is used
→ Very little reliance on technical elements (recorded sound, lighting, special effects)
→ Lighting is mainly used to illuminate
→ Sounds created by actors (idiophones)
→ Actor-centered/holy actor
→ Intimate actor/audience relationship
→ Found spaces
→ Decision to strip theatre down is both artistic and practical in SA
CONTEXT
Heavy censorship surrounding Robben Island
(taboo subject)
Apartheid south Africa
Political prisoners
Passbook laws – therefore the men are in prison
– john for 10 years, Winston indefinitely –
ideological reasons
INFLUENCES
Poor theatre from Grotowski – opening scene
and in multifunctional use of props
Sophocles and the use of Antigone and a play within a play device
Epic theatre from Brecht – trial scene
Realism in moments inside prison cell
2|Page
THE ISLAND
PROTEST THEATRE
Starts off with:
• A social problem
• A political abuse
• A conservation issue
Aims to EFFECT A CHANGE
Structure:
o Episodic
o Linking devices
o Music
o Songs
o Dances
o Sound effects
o Superficial/stereotyped characters
o Simple plots
Features:
o Many localities
o Strives for an emotional response
o Poor techniques
o Sparse sets
o Innovative props
o Use of dispensable lighting
o Mime and vocal effects
COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF PROTEST PLAYS:
➢ Message-driven
➢ Breaking of the 4th wall
➢ Singing, protest songs (draws the audience in emotionally)
➢ Immediate and urgent issues (must be performed as soon as possible because change is
required)
➢ Multifunctional use of props
➢ Didactic in intention and want an emotional connection
➢ Actor-centered
➢ Performed in found spaces
➢ Physical acting e.g., miming
➢ Exaggerated style
➢ Episodic structure to reinforce didactic nature of the play
➢ Existential philosophy
➢ Influence of other styles like Poor Theatre and Brecht
➢ Protest plays in SA were often workshopped
1|Page
, Nicola Waite Dramatic Arts October 2021
EPIC THEATRE IN RELATION TO SOUTH AFRICAN
PROTEST THEATRE
❖ Message-driven
❖ Use of narrator
❖ Banners, slides, captions to highlight message
❖ Breaking of 4th wall – actor addresses the audience directly
❖ Actor plays more than 1 role
❖ Actor demonstrates
❖ Bright white light
❖ House lights on
❖ Style is more externalized
❖ Use of protest songs
❖ Episodic structure
❖ Didactic and political
❖ Audience becomes an instigator of change
POOR THEATRE AND GROTOWSKI IN RELATION TO SOUTH AFRICAN
PROTEST THEATRE
→ All unnecessary theatrical elements eliminated
→ Sets are almost bare
→ Only basic and necessary costume is used
→ Very little reliance on technical elements (recorded sound, lighting, special effects)
→ Lighting is mainly used to illuminate
→ Sounds created by actors (idiophones)
→ Actor-centered/holy actor
→ Intimate actor/audience relationship
→ Found spaces
→ Decision to strip theatre down is both artistic and practical in SA
CONTEXT
Heavy censorship surrounding Robben Island
(taboo subject)
Apartheid south Africa
Political prisoners
Passbook laws – therefore the men are in prison
– john for 10 years, Winston indefinitely –
ideological reasons
INFLUENCES
Poor theatre from Grotowski – opening scene
and in multifunctional use of props
Sophocles and the use of Antigone and a play within a play device
Epic theatre from Brecht – trial scene
Realism in moments inside prison cell
2|Page
