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Theatre and Politics in Africa in Depiction of “Identity, Identification & Cultural Citizenship” Through the Lens of Andrew Buckland One-Man Show “The Ugly Noo Noo” in South Africa Market Theatre



Author(s)

Paulos Aemero

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DOI:10.17265/2328-2177/2024.12.010

Centre for African and Oriental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

The purpose of this scientific article is to investigate and analyse the inextricable link between politics and theatre, as well as their interdependence in social and political relations in the arena of African stage play in the case of Andrew Buckland’s one-man show, which was performed on Thursday, August 15, 2024 at the Market Theatre. As we know, in a particular country, without people, or more precisely, without actors who represent them in a theatrical performance, there are no history, politics, culture, theatre, and no political events in a certain time, space, and territory that we envision. Political events from the recent or distant past are often the subject of theatrical plays and art works in general. Such theatre develops into political theatre. The theatre can identify certain subjects in specific settings and solve their problems in their own way through performance, as well as critically explain and interpret them in terms of results, impacts, and repercussions. The writer of these articles observes the performance and immediately interviews the physical theatre performer Andrew Buckland in the backstage and analyses his performance on the topic of theater and politics correlations as a result from direct observation and audience position involvement. The research indicates the distinction between politics and theatre of one-man show of Andrew Buckland’s “The Ugly Noo Noo” in South Africa market theatre through the theory of Aristotle’s theatre and Brecht’s theatre, which is manifested in their different function and relationship to the state in political and theatre perspectives in depiction of “Identity, Identification, and Cultural Citizenship”. To assess the observed performance, the researcher relies on Aristotle’s and Brecht’s theatre theories. Aristotle’s theatre supports the existing state order as a divine order, but Brecht’s theatre destroys the state order through theatre. Brecht’s theatre transforms into a political theatre, with the goal of awakening and changing the audience’s consciousness, as well as converting it to an ideology that will contribute to the state. These and other theatre and political theories are used to analyze the aforementioned one-man show. In addition, the researcher of these articles uses primary and secondary datasets to define and question terms. To do so, the researcher employs a qualitative research methodology. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the dataset and observing the one-man show, the researcher discovered that Andrew Buckland’s one-man show “The Ugly Noo Noo” theatre depicts not only the past but also the present realities of South Africa and world politics by understanding and observing the very essence of politics, its true nature, and its true meaning. The research findings show that “The 2024 Ugly Noo Noo” is an impressed play that keeps its subversive thrust of the 80s but speaks to us now in this fractured world by narrating universal themes such as natural disasters, humanity and compassion, dreams and aspirations, isolation and connection, tradition vs. change of the world, freedom and oppression, courage and sacrifice, love and relationships, identity and self-discovery, power and corruption, conflict and resolution. He adds powerful and relatable components in his storytelling. As a result, Andrew Buckland’s “The Ugly Noo Noo” exemplifies theater’s power as a platform for political expression in Africa. The show pushes viewers to confront hard truths about identity and belonging in a fast changing world by delving into personal and societal concerns. As South Africa evolves, works like Buckland’s remind us of the long-standing importance of performance in shaping political conversation and promoting understanding.

politics, physical theatre, political theater, theater, Aristotle, The Ugly Noo Noo, one-man show, power