Story Circles: A conversation on Black Feminist theatre practices drawn from creating the play ‘Postcards: Bodily preserves’

abstract

The world is characterised by polarisation and distrust; there is a need for research that humanises others through narrative, everyday performances and empathy. This article, framed as a conversation aims to look at the creation and performance of the play, ‘Postcards: Bodily preserves’, as a Black Feminist theatre aesthetic. We depart from the question: What does a Black Feminist theatre aesthetic look like? Through the exchange, we examine the process of directing using Black Feminist theatre tools. We collectively look at the choices we make when we intentionally embody Black Feminist theory in the rehearsal room. More importantly, we examine how the work we do, de-centres the power of the director in the room. We use Story Circles, a performative story-making model, to guide the reflection. In addition to our recollections, we argue that Story Circles is a form of Black Feminist theatre aesthetic that captures our dynamic, multilingual ways of creating. It is an aesthetic grounded in the fundamental belief that artistic practice and critical reflection can spark lasting political change.

keywords:

• Black Feminist aesthetic
• theatre-making
• directing

Notes

1 Intsomi – is an isiXhosa word for story or fable. A teller of a story begins the story with Kwasuka sukela Ngentsomi, (Once upon a time) or Yathi Iintsomi (The story begins).

2 Vuyelwa Maluleke is a poet and playwright. Her work includes personal experiences looking at what it means to be black and female in South Africa.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Refiloe Lepere

REFILOE LEPERE is a director, writer, facilitator and lecturer. Her numerous theatre-directing credits include ‘Postcards: Bodily preserves’ (2018) performed in Germany, New York and Johannesburg, ‘Between Sisters’ (2016), ‘Complexion’ (2017), ‘Jozi shorts’ (2016), ‘Talking Black’ (2007) part of Biko 30:30, ‘Songs for Khwezi’ (2016) and ‘Bitesize theatre’ (2015). Her work entails creating a dialogue across disciplines, making interconnections between race and feminist theory, social justice and theatre-making practices, drama therapy and human rights. E-mail: [email protected]

Mamaki Patience Mlangeni

MAMAKI PATIENCE MLANGENI is a qualified Drama Therapist. She is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Mamaki is currently based in the United Kingdom where she is working with autistic children. She also works with children identified as having challenging behaviour and learning development issues. In the past decade, she has worked as a facilitator working locally and internationally. Email: [email protected]