Bahale Arts Development Centre has come up with an initiative designed to provide answers and solutions to social issues and ills that usually weigh people down through theatre and drama.
Known as Bahale Theatre Makers Incubation, the programme seeks to achieve its goals by studying human nature, diagnosing problems and identifying possible solutions. This, it does through dramatisation.
This was revealed by the founder and artistic director of the institution, Liatile Mohale, during the graduation ceremony of the first cohort of the Bahale Theatre Makers Incubation Programme on Friday.
Mohale stated that drama at Bahale is all about studying human behaviour and interaction with his/her environment and people around them.
This enables them to develop a drama that depicts reality that people can relate with, while at the same time exploring solutions. This is quite therapeutic and empowering as it enables people to self-introspect and appreciate that they are not alone in the daily struggle to get by.
Mohale noted that there are a few programmes that celebrate the arts and drama sector and, as a result, the performing arts are often shadowed by the entertainment industry’s feel-good dramas with a happy ending.
“There are different dramas told in the country such as of HIV/AIDS and social ills reminding us about our problems as a country.
“For instance, in dramas on issues such as gender based violence women are always the victims, and that portrays men as evil people; this leads to generations growing up believing that men are trash because of the narratives we were taught.
“These stories perpetuate the wrong narrative of Lesotho. We never see stories that reflect the greatness of Lesotho”, she lamented.
Mohale added that even news articles that address issues in Lesotho are always about stories that speak negativity instead of its beauty.
“We need to tell the truth through dramas, we need to portray beauty and embrace it in our lives, instead of trauma all the time. Apart from that we need to remind Basotho of who they are, speak differently about ourselves through this incubation programme.
“Bahale Incubation programme is intended to highlight the beauty and truth of culture through the performing arts. It’s a reminder of who Basotho are. Our graduates will go out and share their skills, reminding us of who we are,” Mohale pointed out.
She said looking back at her life in theatre and the world of work up to this point, Bahale Theatre Makers Incubation Programme has made her realise that all her life experiences were preparing her for the present.
“All the insights drawn from working as a teacher of theatre, an accounts executive at a marketing agency, a farmer and my sabbatical in the US have taught me that if we as a country continue to entrust the development of the industries in the hands of the people who have more theoretical knowledge than technical skills, the journey towards our holistic development is going to remain difficult.
“Lack of adequate arts development programmes in Lesotho jeopardises the growth and sustainability of an already fragile sector.
“Theatre in particular, remains largely underdeveloped. Most practitioners do not have formal training, they lack infrastructure support and are unable to access funding. For these reasons and many others, many of them abandon their talents to pursue careers in more recognised fields such as STEM while the few who are extremely lucky leave to pursue work in other countries. This artistic brain drain then confirms to people that the arts are not worth a substantial investment,” Mohale observed.
Meanwhile, renowned South African stage and screen actor, Jerry Mofokeng who advocates for storytelling of Basotho stories, said Basotho have stories to tell but are sitting on the content.
He said poetry is not created to be studied but performed.
He proposed that strengthening the appreciation of the arts can be done through workshops for teachers in theatre and education, to strengthen their skills.
“We should have storytelling competitions where Basotho tell “litsomo”(tales),” Mofokeng noted.
