Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to situate the selected documentary performances in their cultural, political, and historical context.
- Students will be able to distinguish the variety of ways documentary theatre has adapted in its approach to acting and staging facts.
- Students will develop a nuanced appreciation of the various aims and objectives of Documentary Theatre in the 20th and 21st century and understand the influence of media and technology in the development of the form.
- Students will understand the various ways documentary theatre and performance facilitates a sense of community, citizenship and participation in the public sphere and the ethical dilemmas of this praxis.
- Students will be able to produce organized, coherent, and critically engaged written and/or oral work about Documentary theatre and performance.
Indicative Module Content:
Week 1. Documentary Theatre - Challenges, Limitations and Potential Developments
Week 2. Memory Matters-Namibia Themba Mbuli and Unmute Sold! (2016)
Week 3. Holocaust- Aviva Pelham Santa’s Story (2012)
Week 4. Apartheid- Mbongeni Ngema Sarafina! (1987)
Week 5. Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa Nothing But the Truth John Kani (2002)
Week 6. Midterm Presentation
Week 7. Xenophobia and Race- Gina Shmukler The Line (2012)
Week 8. Migration- Jonathan Khumbulani Nkala The Crossing (2008)
Week 9. Prison and Justice in Zimbabwe Lloyd Nyikadzino, Cadrick Msongelwa and Ronald Sigeca Zandezi! (2018)
Week 10. Student Activism- Ameera Conrad et al The Fall (2017)
Week 11: Revision
Week 12: Final essay