Question 1 (Compulsory):

Discuss why, in your opinion, Theatre for Development may be the most comprehensive
form of literature.

Theatre for Development (TfD) is unique as being one of the most integrated forms of literature
as it is not limited to text, or passive reading. more specifically it becomes an embodied,
participatory, socially interactive practice. Unlike passive written genres like poetry or prose that
have a direct audience, TfD combines the narrative oral, visual and performative aspects of the
art of storytelling together with direct community activism, and therefore is both a tool used for
artistic expression and a vehicle whereby social change can be injected into the community.

First, TfD works at the crossroad of art and activism. According to Augusto Boal’s Theatre of
the Oppressed then, theatre works as a rehearsal of reality and its possibility for marginalized
people to play their way out of their problems. In this sense, TfD is not merely narrative form,
but also a praxis – a place where art and action meet. Unlike static texts, its scripts are frequently
collaboratively produced, and reflect the lived realities of participants.

Second, TfD makes use of oral traditions making it accessible to contexts with poor levels of
literacy. Shouting at Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s call to decolonize literature though indigenous
languages and forms, TfD uses song, dance, proverbs, and communal engagement –- aspects
Trumped in the canon of Western literature. This increases its literary sweep making it inclusive
and culturally based.

Third, TfD is dynamic and it can also be adapted to the needs of the user. It varies performance
to performance, moulded by audience response, local setting and continued dialogues. Writing is
mostly set in stone the moment it makes it to pages, but TfD lives on the fly and immediate
feedback. For instance, a malaria-awareness play in rural Malawi may be made to accommodate
new focus areas on the spot if villagers raise new questions in the post-show discussion.

Finally, the TfD stresses message rather than form, and important social problems over
perfection of the artistic form. This is consistent with trends in the literature of liberation, for
example, in Central African Lusophone poetry, where the imperative of political struggle
sometimes outstrips the exigencies of style.
In conclusion, Theatre for Development is the most comprehensive form of literature because it
merges storytelling, community engagement, activism, and cultural expression into one
participatory and transformative practice.
Using specific examples from African countries, explore the basic types of Theatre for
Development. How effective have they been to the target communities?

Forum Theatre makes spectators “spect‐actors”. In South Africa, audiences intervened in a

domestic‐violence scene—calling “Stop!” and enacting nonviolent responses—that was
witnessed by 75% of participants that increased their confidence and they they formed peer‐
support groups. ***This hands‐on approach also promoted continuous community conversation
on conflict resolution beyond performances.**

Hand‐puppets are used in the Puppet Theatre to produce taboo issues. In rural Uganda,
characters such ‘‘Mama Kasubi’’ facilitated open discussion on HIV/AIDS and voluntary testing
by 40 percent, stigma notwithstanding. Puppets that created emotional distance made it easier for
people to share their personal stories and advise without shame.

Mobile Theatre (Roadshows) puts performances in the hands of villagers. Zimbabwe’s Tsuro
Roadshow showed how a combination of drama, song and drumming could be used to promote
cholera prevention; reaching a 60% decline in new cases, and trained local youth to continue
outreach. Its mobility and entertainment value made sure that important health messages reached
—and resonated with–– diverse, remote crowds.

Community Theatre puts playmaking into native people’s hands. In northern Tanzania,
villagers cooperatively penned and performed a land-dispute drama under a mango tree and
following this, land conflicts reduced by 25% (as the communities embraced the negotiated
settlements techniques). Through the insertion of theatre into ordinary rooms, theatre built local
leadership and guaranteed sustainable dispute‐resolution behaviours.
Question 3:

Illustrate how the general formal and thematic characteristics of Theatre for Development
make it significantly unique from conventional theatre.

The nature of the formal and thematic aspects of TfD differentiate it radically from standard
theatre; it could be considered as a special method of social participation.

Formally, simple, linear plots are employed by TfD to achieve clarity and accessibility. Unlike
theatre which may play with non-linear stories, or complex character arcs (examples found in
such pieces as Soyinka’s The Road – whilst this article discusses such topics in its own way later
on in the paper), TfD is an attempt at retelling stories that reflect the rationality and experience of
the audiences as they do every day.

The text at TfD is normally local and relatable even though it’s translated. While revived
“mainstream” theatre typically draws on the polished fits and fancies of stylized language, TfD
resorts to conversational language, local idioms, and occasionally even more than one language
to represent a world which is multilingual.

Literally, in the message, TfD puts the message before aesthetic flourish. This refers to Central
African liberation poetry, in which the political strife that this work provokes, instead of artistic
excellence, determines the content. Likewise, TfD prefers as little props and costumes as
possible, using what is possible from the community.

TfD performances also use humor, dance, and music to keep the audience interested, which is
different from the more formal, dimly lit spaces of normal theatres. Further, TfD’s identity is
functional not psychological – characters often stand for social types (corrupt leader, struggling
mother) for the sake of immediate recognizability of the problems.

Perhaps at that most important, TfD blurs the line between actors and audience. The spectators
are not passive; they participate, interfere, co-create the performance tearing down the “fourth
wall” which is quite often upheld inside a conventional theatre.
The works of TfD touch upon the title subject as real life community issues. health, governance,
gender inequality, conflict resolution. Despite the fact that conventional theatre can cover as
well, the main focus of its activity is usually creative, not necessarily community oriented one.
Question 4:

Select any case example of Theatre for Development that may have been considered a
success and answer the following questions.

Let’s consider the Kamiriithu Community Education and Cultural Centre in Kenya,
spearheaded by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in the late 1970s.

a) Appropriateness of the Theme concerning the Target Audience

Ngũgĩs major work, *Ngaahika Ndeenda* (“I will marry when I want”) focused on everyday
challenges of the smallholders farmers, laborers and market – traders around Kamĩrĩĩthũ. Its
essence was the romance of Wanuri and Gicaari, a young couple whose hopes of a decent
wedding are crushed by skunks lenders and land grabbers. These were the turning points of land
alienation from real life experiences after independence: There were many cases of peasants
losing ancestral plots to speculators or debt pacts that inexorably confined them. Radicalizing
such events in Gĩkũyũ (and their literalized comedy, proverbs and rhymes) the play directly
addressed audiences’ lived realities. Spectators saw and heard their own faces and voices in the
dialogue, and made the play’s indictment of neocolonial economic relations not just intelligible,
but literally visceral.

b) Appropriateness of the form to the audience and nature of the project,

Kamĩrĩĩthũs’ theatre was physically erected by the community on land gifted by local farmers
and the creation and form was a response to indigenous performance practices. Instead of
building a proper proscenium, actors acted on open-ground stage over the hills and farms that
made the play’s background. The community had provided the chorus songs, traditional dances
and hand sewn masks. professionally trained actors and student from the Kenya National Theatre
were the facilitators of the workshops. Such a combination of grassroots participation and
technical competence provided an immersive “lived theatre” experience. The outdoor, no‐fee
format eliminated entry restrictions—children, older citizens, vendors and tenant farmers alike
felt invited. Practically, the infusion of song‐dance interludes and call-and-response exchanges
engaged the East African oral-ritual forms, conscripting into a sense of shared ownership and
turning the performance into a communal ritual of celebration and contention.

Although its cultural resonance was unquestionable, the Kamĩrĩĩthũ mission faced wind from all
directions:

State Censorship and Repression: The forthright criticism of class disparities, in a sort of
challenge to the political aristocracy, unnerved the Kenyan government. In October, 1977 the
police raided the performance of Ngaahika Ndeenda; seized scripts and proscribed the entire
Kamĩrĩĩthũ Centre. After the prohibiting of Ngũgĩ’s next play, Maitu Njugira(“Mother sing for
me”), by 1982, the theatre was bulldozed, its destruction an effort to wipe away the physical
place and the “radical” thought that made it what it was.

Resource Constraints: Working on a shoestring budget –on available local donations of lumber,
sough scraps and volunteer labour-Kamĩrĩĩthũ struggled to cover even basic costs such as sound
equipment, materials for the sets or stipends to key facilitators. This made it hard to maintain a
long rehearsal period or taking the play out to neighboring districts thereby containing its spread.

Surveillance and Intimidation: The political sensitiveness of content subject to constant

questioning. Community actors ran the risk of harassment or arrest and facilitators had to deal
with a climate of fear in which any dialogue that might be construed as threatening “national
unity” had to be self-censored. This atmosphere put trust between the participants under pressure
and sometimes paralyzed the creative process as the troupe members discussed how far they
could take the criticism before endangering themselves.

Thought for a couple of seconds

Mounting a Theatre‐for‐Development (TfD) project in Turkana County to tackle drought

resilience and resource conflict among pastoralist communities requires careful planning across
several interlocking dimensions. Below, each key consideration is unpacked with practical
strategies and illustrative examples.
Locate a region and a hypothetical situation. Outline the main issues you may have to
consider to mount a Theatre-for-Development performance.

1. Cultural Sensitivity

Turkana society is organized around age‐set systems, clan networks and deeply held beliefs
about livestock, land and water spirits. Any theatrical intervention must first map local
worldviews—for instance, the role of the Akujok (rainmaker) and traditional water‐sharing
protocols. Early engagement with elders and spiritual leaders can identify taboos (e.g., certain
animals or sacred sites) and sanction a “cultural charter” for the troupe’s conduct. Embedding
traditional song‐dance sequences (such as the adakar) and ritual blessings before each
performance will not only show respect but also signal that the project is anchored in Turkana
values, reducing the risk of alienation.

2. Language Strategy

With Turkana, Swahili and pockets of English spoken variably across age groups, the
performance must balance clarity with inclusivity. One approach is code‐switching: core scenes
delivered in Turkana, narration or chorus commentary in Swahili, and printed summaries
(posters or flyers) in English for NGO partners. Recruiting bilingual community liaisons to
translate in real time—and training local youth as “language ambassadors” onstage—ensures that
no group is left out and that the nuances of pastoralist terminology (e.g., lokaper for grazing
reserve) are preserved.

3. Access and Mobility

Pastoralists move seasonally to follow water and pasture. A static stage risks missing its
audience; instead, a modular roadshow—with collapsible frames, portable solar lighting and a
push‐cart puppet box—can follow camel and cattle migration routes. Collaborating with
livestock camp managers and the County’s mobile health clinics allows the troupe to piggyback
on existing itineraries, ensuring performances reach families during key watering points and
market days.

4. Relevance of Themes

Drought resilience and resource sharing must be dramatized through local case studies: a
contested borehole, a cross‐clan water agreement, or the journey of a single calf as it grows
under changing climatic conditions. Scenes could juxtapose traditional water diviners’ forecasts
with modern meteorological updates, allowing audiences to debate and dramatize hybrid
strategies. Embedding real dialogue—collected in pre‐performance focus groups—guarantees
that debates over borehole drilling fees, veterinary services or pasture rotations ring true.

5. Community Participation and Ownership

From day one, scripts should emerge from story‐gathering workshops rather than being
externally authored. Prompts like “Recall a time the herd survived a bad dry season” or “Act out
a successful water‐sharing meeting” help generate authentic material. Local storytellers,
women’s group members and youth council reps must be cast as core collaborators—both
onstage and off—and ideally earn small stipends or in‐kind livestock support, underscoring that
this is a partnership, not charity.

6. Safety, Ethical and Political Sensitivities

Resource conflicts in Turkana can involve inter‐ethnic clashes or disputes over commercial
grazing licenses. The theatre must avoid accidental reinforcements of stereotypes—for
example, portraying any one clan as uniformly “greedy.” A code of ethics, co‐drafted with
community leaders, should prohibit naming real individuals or locations. Facilitators should also
organize rapid response protocols: if a scene inadvertently stokes tensions, a debrief circle
immediately follows, mediated by trained local peace‐builders, to ground the dialogue in
constructive problem‐solving.

7. Post‐Performance Engagement and Sustainability

A one‐off show risks evaporating on the wind. Instead, each performance should be followed by
a “commitment circle”, where participants name concrete next steps—repairing a broken well,
rotating pastures, forming a water‐committee. These pledges are documented on a visible “action
board” at the performance site. Monthly follow‐up gatherings—potentially piggy‐backing on
veterinary or health‐clinic visits—keep momentum alive. Training a small cadre of theatre‐
mediators drawn from the community ensures that the process can continue independently, with
occasional back‐up visits from the central troupe.

By weaving together deep cultural respect, nuanced language use, logistical mobility, authentic
story‐collection, ethical safeguards, and robust follow‐through, a TfD intervention in Turkana
can move beyond mere performance into a living catalyst for drought resilience and peaceful
resource governance.