5 March 2008

The Department of Arts and Culture has noted the controversy surrounding the most recent edition of the Naledi Theatre Awards, held at the Victory Theatre in Johannesburg on Monday 3rd March and the remarks made by the producer of “The Lion King”, Lebo M alleging “racism” in the distribution of the prizes and the treatment he personally suffered on that occasion.

One Mr Ishmael Mohamed, writing in ArtsLink.co.za, has gone one further and has publicly accused the Department of Arts & Culture of passivity on the issue of transformation in the theatre sector.

Mr Mohammed opines:

“Lebo M’s roar about racism in the ranks of the Naledi Theatre Awards was therefore a piss in the wrong bowl. Somebody ought to have told him that the toilet signs point towards the Minister’s office and to the offices of the Artistic Directors of the Market Theatre, State Theatre and the Windybrow Theatre.
As for the credibility of the Windybrow Theatre and how it is using public funds to advance the careers of Black theatre practitioners, the piss bowl has long since over-flowed with more than just piss. Perhaps, Lebo M would like to take a walk there to pull the flush!” (Our emphasis)

We find it interesting that this Mr. Mohamed should be instructing people to urinate in the Minister’s office barely a week after the UFS video came to public notice!!
Like every other South African, Mr Mohammed is entitled to his opinions. What is not acceptable is DISTORTING THE FACTS.
We would therefore like to set the record straight:
The Ministry of Arts and Culture is not a Soviet-style “Commissariat of Arts and Culture”, empowered to command and direct what South African theatres and producers will put on stage.  The Ministry does not use public funds to prescribe what a theatre, an artist or a company should perform.  It would appear Mr Mohammed would like the Ministry to do just that. The question necessarily arises: What additional powers would he like the Ministry to exercise?

It is rather curious too that Mr Mohammed appears to think an African, Coloured or Indian actor may not or should not be cast as Lear, Macbeth, Romeo, Julius Caesar or some other role in what Mohammed presumably regards as “White theatre”. It may come as surprise to him, but Denzel Washington has been cast in a host of Shakespearean roles, significantly, until now, none of them include Othello! The excuse that the roles depicted on the South African stage do not call for Black actors is a patent nonsense. Lawrence Olivier played Othello as did many other non-Black actors!

Ironically, Mr Mohammed writes this of a Ministry of Arts and Culture that has been in dialogue with the Naledi Theatre Awards leadership for the past two to three years, precisely on the repertoire of South African theatre. This was done not to impose its views on them, but rather to reason about the future of theatre and its relative irrelevance to the majority because its wares tend to be imports from the West End and Broadway. Thus far to no avail.

This year, 2008 was the first Naledi Awards Gala that did NOT receive funding from the Dept.

The problems of South African theatre, as in all other artistic disciplines, are not going to be solved by Ministerial decree or diktat. As government we can only create the necessary environment to facilitate the solution of problems. The responsibility to discuss, agree on and implement solutions devolves on the stake-holders in theatre, including actors, producers and theatre owners.
At core what occasioned Lebo M’s outrage is a perceived refusal to acknowledge black talent on the part of the South African Theatre Management Association.

It’s worth noting that Black artists, through their story-telling and messaging, have largely been responsible for the recognition that South African theatre has received globally. The works of black playwrights and actors have received international accolades not only for their quality and content, but also for their universal relevance. Thus it is odd that they are not recognized or taken seriously on their home soil.

Since the 1980s, Black and White actors have had opportunities for education and training at institutions like Wits and Cape Town universities but also through shared experiences on stage. Is it not anomalous that only one group appears to earn the laurels?

Lebo M’s remarks are an important barometer of the level of frustration encountered by Black theatre practitioners in the sector. The challenge that faces the sector, especially the Theatre Management Association of South Africa, is self-examination to assess whether they are doing enough to contribute to the transformation of the sector.

The Department of Arts and Culture upholds the autonomy and artistic freedom of all our artistic disciplines. While the department will continue to provide funds, vision and nurture an enabling environment for the sector, we cannot afford to and shall not compromise the independence and artistic freedom of the sector through high-handed “political interference.”

We ALL have to be agents of the change that we want to see happen in the theatre sector without surrendering the standards of excellence already established.

Those who feel either challenged or affronted by the incident this last Monday, would do well to undertake a measure of introspection to determine whether The Naledi Awards management, leadership and direction are promoting the ideals and principles espoused in our Constitution. The transformation of South African theatre must necessarily entail revisiting what we see on South Africa’s stages, the weighing of its relevance to the nation-building project, while keeping the theatre as an open window through which South African audiences can experience what happens in the rest of the world.

The controversy over race and racism in the theatre should be a moment for self-reflection and critical examination of the pace at which transformation is proceeding. The Department of Arts and Culture is not the agency to execute this. That is the collective responsibility of the theatre community and the principal role-players within it.

Ends

For further details, call: Mack Lewele, Communications Officer, Department of Arts and Culture, 082 450 5076/012 441 3083

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