An analysis of policies, practices and trends in Namibian theatre in the late 20th century, with specific empasis on the work of bricks, Frederick Philander and Aldo Behrens
The study aimed to demonstrate the ways that theatre in Namibia was conceptualized, managed and performed from the mid-1980s to the turn of the century, a period spanning two distinct political dispensations: the pre-independence period of apartheid and foreign domination, and the post-independence era of democracy and a professed promotion of cultural diversity in unity. The operating assumption is that theatre always reflects a specific structure of feeling because it operates in a particular socio-political context and historic moment. In Namibia theatre was influenced by bureaucratic policies, or as appears to be the case after independence, by an apparent lack of clarity as far as a policy for the arts, and theatre in particular, was concerned. The researcher attempted to achieve the above aims by an analysis of the policies, practices and trends in Namibian theatre in the late 20th century, with specific emphasis on the work of Bricks, Frederick Philander and Aldo Behrens. The motivation for focusing on said theatre practitioners is that they were a constant presence in Namibian theatre throughout most of the period covered by the research and they represent both the formal and informal sectors. The research design was situated within an interpretivist paradigm, and employed qualitative data collection methods of interviews, questionnaires and an intensive documents’ search. This was in order to gather empirical evidence to establish the status and practice of theatre in the country; and to find out if the performances during the identified periods reflected the material reality of people in Namibia. The population was persons who, apart from those in institutionalized positions, influenced the development of theatre in Namibia during the periods that the research refers to. The research concluded that theatre in pre-independent Namibia during the time covered by this research reflected two different structures of feeling namely that of oppressor and oppressed. Performances of the theatre makers under consideration had a common theme, that of rejecting occupation and anticipating liberty. Expectations of radical improvement in the lot of informal and grassroots performers after independence did not happen which led to gradual disillusionment in government’s interest in the plight of artists. The lack of an official policy led to a lack of direction for the arts, planning seemed to lack continuity and forward thinking and the only discernible aim was the strengthening of traditional culture in an attempt at nation building. The study also found that trends in Namibia were largely echoed in other postcolonial African countries.
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