Abstract
This article examines the transformative complexity of found objects in design in relation to devised theatre in Africa, specifically Zimbabwe. It argues that although widespread, the use of found objects in African theatre has not received sufficient academic attention, leading to oversimplification and negative attitudes this design practice. Emphasis is on the body as the locus of aesthetics and communication in performance, something that is challenged in the paper. Cognisant of the celebration of the performing body at the expense of theatre design and the use of found objects, we argue that found objects have a profound impact on the theatrical experience in ways that are yet to be fully established. The paper explores the transformative capabilities and complications that may arise from the use of found objects on stage even as it acknowledges the central part played by the performing body.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abubakar, A. 2009. New concept of actor/audience interaction and audience participation in modern African dramatic theatre: An example of Osofisan. Research in African Literatures 40 (3): 174–185.
Boal, Augusto. 2006. The aesthetics of the oppressed. New York: Routledge.
Chifunyise, Stephen. 1997. Foreword. In Making people’s theatre, ed. Robert Mshengu Kavanagh, i–ii. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
Chifunyise, Stephen, and Robert Mshengu Kavanagh, eds. 1988. Zimbabwe theatre report. Harare: University of Zimbabwe Publications.
Devlin, Diana. 1989. Mask and scene. Michigan: Macmillan.
Elam, Keir. 1980. The semiotics of theatre and drama. London: Methuen.
Finnegan, Ruth. 1970. Oral literature in Africa. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Fischer-Lichte, Erika. 2004. Culture as performance: Theatre history as cultural history. In ACTAS/Proceedings. http://ww3.fl.ul.pt/centros_invst/teatro/pagina/Publicacoes/Actas/erika_def.pdf. Accessed 21 Jan 2019.
Fischer-Lichte, Erika. 2008. Sense and sensation: Exploring the interplay between the semiotic and performative dimensions of theatre. Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism 22 (3): 69–81.
Gillette, Michael. 1997. Theatrical design and production: An introduction to scene design and construction, lighting, sound, costume and makeup, 3rd ed. London: Mayfield Publishing.
Govan, Emma, Helen Nicholson, and Katie Normington. 2007. Making a performance: Devising histories and contemporary practices. London and New York: Routledge.
Hananda, Tafadzwa. 2014. Personal interview. 22 June 2014.
Hodge, Francis, and Michael McLain. 2005. Play directing, analysis, communication, and style, 6th ed. Austin: University of Texas.
Irobi, Esiaba. 2007. What they came with: Carnival and the persistence of African performance. Aesthetics in the Diaspora 37 (6): 896–913.
Iverson, Margaret. 2004. Readymade, Found object, Photograph. Art Journal 63 (2): 44–57.
Kavanagh, Mshengu Robert. 1997. Making people’s theatre. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
Maclaurin, Ali. 2002. A collective approach to designing for devised theatre. Studies in Theatre and Performance 20 (2): 97–104.
Malva, Filipa. 2012. A prop’s story: From the everyday to the stage. Dissertation, University of Coimbra, Coimbra.
Mangawa,Teddy. 2014. Personal interview, University of Zimbabwe, 22 April 2014.
Milling, Jane, and Deirdre Heddon. 2015. Devising performance: A critical history. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Mlenga, Tafadzwa, et al. 2015. Contemporary theatre spaces: Politico-ideological constructions in Zimbabwe: A dialectical approach. Studies in Theatre and Performance 35 (3): 221–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682761.2015.1070638.
Power, Cormac. 2008. Presence in play: A critique of theories of presence in the theatre. New York: Rodopi.
Ravengai, Samuel. 2014. The politics of theatre and performance training in Zimbabwe 1980–1996. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 5 (3): 255–326.
Read, Allan. 1993. Theatre and everyday life: An ethics of performance. London: Routledge.
Rohmer, Martin. 1999. Theatre and performance in Zimbabwe. Bayreuth: Bayreuth University Press.
Shabangu‚ Mcedisi. 2013. Personal interview. 30 November 2013.
Schirle, Joan. 2005. Potholes in the road to devising. Theatre Topics 15 (1): 91–102.
Sibanda, Nkululeko. 2017. The politics of design in community theatre circles. A comparative analysis of the creative design processes employed by Entumba Arts Development in Tear of Death (2013) and Bambelela Arts Ensemble in Just Because (1999; 2013). Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban.
Weber, Jason. 2010. Creating together: Defining approaches to collaboratively-generated devised theatre. Paper presented at Mid-America Theatre Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Wilson, Edwin. 2002. Theatre: The theatre experience, 8th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Zenenga, Praise. 2015. The total aesthetic paradigm in African theatre. In The Oxford handbook of dance and theatre, ed. N. George-Graves, 236–251. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mlenga, T., Chivandikwa, N. (2021). Transformative Complexity of Found Objects in Devised Zimbabwean Theatre. In: Ravengai, S., Seda, O. (eds) Theatre from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. Contemporary Performance InterActions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74594-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74594-3_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-74593-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-74594-3
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)