Breaking free from the stage to survive

In these times of pandemic, the theatre is no longer a prisoner of the classic stage, but seeks the achievement of versatility in various ways. Alternative is the watchword, Mozambican actress Angelina Chavango says.

On the occasion of the World Theatre Day, March 27, DW Africa spoke to Angelina Chavango, a young Mozambican actress making waves in Maputo, about the democratisation of the theatre.    Angelina, who is also a theatre teacher, believes that her art form is also experiencing democratisation, and advocates the use of alternative spaces. She is living proof that the recent higher education theatre course in the country is bearing fruit.

DW Africa: Is it possible to talk about democratising the theatre, in terms of opportunities for the actors and in terms of space?

Angelina Chavango (AC): I think we can, yes. I don’t know, for example, about the other provinces, but here in Maputo I have seen good interaction between the actors. The actors are getting organised, despite the difficulties of space and everything. The actors are creating ways of living through the theatre. Now, we have performances online. We cannot be on stage because of the pandemic, but we can still record and publish for people. Just looking at all these events, I would say that there is a democratization, but only for those who try to come up with survival strategies.

DW Africa: So, is there a kind of liberation from a classic stage, from a theatre room, to other spaces?

AC: That’s right. We already have, for example, the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation and 16Neto, which do not have a conventional space. Rooms or gardens are transformed into a place for theatre. Despite the difficulties of presenting our plays in theatres as such, we can stage presentations even in our own backyards. For example, with the theatres now closed, we have transformed our homes into places for rehearsals and even performances, but only for small audiences. Yes, we are facing difficulties, but in the midst of these difficulties, we try to combine the useful with the pleasant.

Avenida Theatre entrance, in Maputo

DW Africa: Is the concept of an alternative scene beginning to take hold in the theatre?

AC: Yes, it is starting to thrive. Especially when talking about theatre in education or theatre for development – which are ways of doing theatre where a stage is not necessary, but obly, say, a classroom, with a theme that concerns the teacher and the students or the student community – it is possible to cultivate this way of doing theatre. And also, in communities, where actors perform community theatre. So, it is possible to use alternative spaces. You can already see this movement, because the actors are not stuck in the theatres. If we get stuck with them, the theatre will die.

DW Africa: What does Mozambican theatre gain from the higher education Drama course at Eduardo Mondlane University?

AC: A lot. I, for example, am a product of the theatre course. I was already doing amateur theatre. But being in drama school, I was able to acquire more tools that are useful to me today. Today, I manage to build a character properly, with its many physical and psychological characteristics. I learned all of that at drama school. And I’m also a drama teacher – I can also pass this experience on to other candidates, students, future actors. So, the possibility of going to drama school opened up other ways of seeing the theatre. I was in the theatre and I didn’t know that there is staging, dramaturgy and so many other theatrical concepts, as well as other elements. All of this I learned at school, and I am from the first course. At the time, my parents didn’t even understand what it was like to study theatre. I faced a great battle until they realised that it is possible to study theatre and it is necessary, and it is possible that there will be transformation in people.