Juno Fitzpatrick reports on her summer internship

During the summer period, I travelled to South Africa to participate and contribute to the theatre and development NGO, ARROWSA (Art: A Resource for Reconciliation Over the World South Africa).

Situated in Sydenham, an economically disadvantaged area of Kwazulu- Natal, the weekly arts meetings at Bechet High provide a secure space to promote conflict resolution and reconciliation between culturally diverse individuals. The project melds performance and visual art as a means of intrapersonal exploration as well as local, national and international interpersonal exploration.

The wider aim of our sessions at Bechet High was to produce a performance intended for a cultural exchange with The San People of the Kalahari Desert.

The learners adapted Mbongeni Ngema’s play Saraphina!  The Sowetan backdrop was delocalised in favour of a narrative central to Durban, fore-fronting the creative resistance to the poverty associated with urban dwelling. The youth group, aged between 12-19, improvised the scene structure through song and dance, showing a strong support and negotiation of each student’s ideas. Stretching from Zulu to English, the songs and poems reflected Bechet High’s multilingual and culturally diverse demographic.

My internship with ARROWSA was enlightening and gratifying experience. Through a commitment to the individual appraisal of each student’s extracurricular and academic achievements; project co-ordinator Mary Lange built on Augusto Boal’s theory of applied theatre to create an interactive and cathartic space of artistic expression for Durban youths.