SPACE AS RESISTANCE: THEATRE VENUES AS COUNTER–HEGEMONIC PRACTICE IN POST-COLONIAL ZIMBABWE

Abstract

This article focuses on theatre space as a form of resistance in post-colonial Zimbabwean drama. It proceeds from the basic observation that for a performance to take place, it has to be presented ‘somewhere’; that is, in a spatial framework which is deliberately chosen or set aside for that purpose. The article adopts post-colonial theory to interrogate the nature of post-colonial Zimbabwe’s newly established theatre venues in terms of location, theatre architecture and audience. These venues are analyzed from the perspective of how theatre space can be used to counter previously hegemonic discursive and representational practices. The principal argument is that in post-colonial theatre practices, forms of resistance are not only reposed in ‘voice’, theme and discursive styles, but are also to be found in performance space. Post-colonial resistance in Zimbabwean theatre today is therefore also located in theatre space as the crucible for theatre performance in all its manifestations. The nature of spaces co-opted as theatres and the architectural design of such theatres, as well as how these theatres have been, or are often re-configured may be read as a form of post-colonial resistance especially given that site, architecture and spatial configuration are always a key aspect of the construction of narration and meaning.

Key words: Space; theatre performance, resistance, post-coloniality, hegemony