The South African troupe that entertained the Bella Centre lines
The entertainers gave a bit of cheer to queuing delegates (Photo: LJ)South African flavoured street theatre delighted delegates and promoted gender perspective on climate change
By Georgina Nitzsche
The fast-paced, high energy, African theatre sketch was a welcome warmer at the Bella Center entrance last week. In their daily performances, the bugling, drumming, jingly bells and bold coloured costumes, easily captured the attention of passing delegates.
“Theatrical language is an entertaining art form,” says actor/director Luke Ellenbogen. “It’s something different to PowerPoint presentations.”
Copenhagen marks the end destination for the five players from Cape Town, who had previously taken their spectacle to Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona for the Global Gender Climate Alliance. With lots of tongue in cheek humour, the quirky plays show how women deal with increased food prices, firewood shortages and land issues as they raise their families.
“We want to highlight the effects of climate change and also the role of gender in the solution, since women and men are affected differently,” continues Ellenbogen. Indeed one skit has women learning to swim and climb trees, so they can rescue themselves in the rising waters: a reference to the disproportionate number of women who drown in flooding compared to men. “We don’t say women are more important,” says Ellenbogen, “we just want women to be thought of, to have a voice.”
And the voice was sweet. From the a-capella ‘Tulu sana wa me’ to the pulsing, hip-swaying of the “Women’s work is never done” song, chilly bystanders gently moved to the rhythms. Theatre, the actor explains, is an alternative language that can more passionately engage leaders and decision makers.
“The audience laugh at the ironies, and then they ask themselves why,” he says. The African Theatre counts the reduction of ivory poaching and pollution as success stories in its 15-year history of rural and environmental work.
