Genesis and Evolution of Theatre for Development

 TFD emerged in the late 1970s
as a social movement that disseminated information on issues of development at
grassroot level in the developing world. It was an offshoot of the travelling theatre movement but
nurtured by the adult education movement. 

Chikwakwa travelling theatre in
Zambia and the Laedza Batanani theatre in Botswana Zambia are considered
precursors of theatre for development (Kerr, 1998), Through international
workshops that brought together proponents of the movement, use of TFD spread
to Tanzania, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Cameroons and
was linked to other regions of the world. The International Council for Adult
Education which housed it as a project promoted its international growth. Ross
Kidd who worked for the Council and many other colleagues were instrumental for
its global linkages (Kerr, 1995).

Over the years, TFD has been
incorporated into extension work of NGOs, development agencies, international
donors and ministries of agriculture, health, and community development and
embraces participatory learning approaches (PLAs) that have been popularised by
Robert Chambers and is buttressed by the Freirian theory of conscientization
which has inspired other participatory approaches to human development that
include: participatory research (PR) and visualization in participatory
programmes (VIPP) and PLA.

In more recent times, TFD has
successfully been used to promote girls’ education in Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi
(Mwansa & Bergman, 2003). One project considered most democratic in
application and appropriation is Tuseme project of Tanzania. The Tuseme groups
assiduously follow an intensive workshop approach which has resulted into
change of attitude towards sending girls to school

The use of theatre to fight
the spread of HIV/AIDS is quite
extensive in Eastern and Southern Africa where FIN and AIDs threatens to
decimate whole populations. For example, in Uganda, a country considered to be a model of success, the government and
a non-governmental organization the Aids Support Organization (TASO) used TFD
as a tool for behaviour change. established seven
theatre companies made up of people 25 people living with AIDS per group which
gave hope to the affected and infected as they saw people infected perform and
talk about their lives. The general effect in Uganda was reduction of the rate
of infection from 30% in 1994 to 6% in 2004.

In Zambia, TFD against AIDs was first used at
the University of Zambia under the project Artists against AIDs which was
sponsored by SIDA and lasted four years. The project took theatre to
communities. Between 2003 and 2004 the Zambian Defence Units used TFD to break
down stigma. Through its two theatre companies reached 6,000 soldiers and their
families in 42 camps and bases.