Tuesday 28 February 2012

Blackout

So here we are: Tuesday. We open on Saturday and no electricity all day. I'm writing this while my laptop still has some battery life ... came in this morning with a newly-edited script ready to print out, but no, things are not so easy in Malawi.

The cars are all grounded, as there is no fuel, diesel or petrol, to be had in Blantyre at the moment. At every new rumour of a delivery, queues form at the filling stations. So my lovely borrowed car is no use to me just now!

On a more positive note, Misheck and I went to the Censorship Board yesterday and they have passed our script. They wanted us to take out two words: one of the characters is not allowed to describe the national anthem as 'stupid' and another is not allowed to describe the president's official hostess as his 'concubine'. Ha! We can still convey the message without the words so it's fine. It's almost as though they were looking for something to censor while leaving the play intact. We're allowed to insinuate that John Tembo and the Kadzamira siblings were complicit in the murder of many people; we're allowed to say 'bloody shit' and 'bloody murderers' (in two languages!). But not to call the national anthem 'stupid'. Ah well.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Day off

After three weeks of working, I decided that this was the weekend I could come away from Blantyre, if only for one night, so made the three hour drive to Nkhudzi Bay to stay with my friend Carrie.

Bliss. I am now sitting on her khonde (covered patio) looking across the lawn to the lake at the bottom of her garden. This morning we had a swim before breakfast which was lovely; although there was an added frisson because yesterday we heard that a crocodile has been basking on the rocks just a few hundred metres away. Fortunately our neighbours had also decided on an early morning swim, so I reasoned that a hungry croc was not likely to swim past them to pick me for his breakfast.

When I got here yesterday morning, I met for the first time a lovely lady who I have heard much about over the years. June Walker, mother of a friend of mine, Chris, has been living in Malawi since the early fifties. Her husband worked for both the colonial government and in Banda’s first post-independence government. He was greatly disapproved of by the British, as he was deemed to have ‘gone native’. An interesting lady, we had a most enjoyable lunch and a lot of laughter. In spite of her insistence that she is definitely in her ‘third age’ and slowing down, she seemed as sharp as either Carrie or I (although I had to teach her how to switch her new smart phone on!).

I have a few hours now before heading back to Blantyre. It’s time to sort out the lighting plot and get the sound cues in order. My main concern at the moment is costume; but that’s something for the production meeting in the morning. One week to go!

Thursday 23 February 2012

The great man arrives ...


So this morning, we were rehearsing on the stage when Thlupego looked up past the auditiorium, nudged me and said quietly “Brown Mpinganjira has just arrived”. And sure enough, there was the great man himself.

Two hours later he left again, having sat on a plastic chair on the stage with the actors and answered questions and talked frankly about his time in D4, the cell in Mikuyu Prison which he shared with, among others, Jack Mapanje.

This was a tremendous gift to us; the company asked intelligent, forthright questions which were answered in similar vein. We gave him our spare copy of Jack’s memoir, with which he was delighted, as he had not yet managed to secure a copy himself, and he has promised to be there at the launch of the show.

So the short amount of rehearsal which remained today was spent slightly revising some of the show in the light of Brown’s contributions. We have lost a day’s rehearsal but gained an immense amount of insight. Aaron especially has been affected: he is playing Brown and was fascinated to see his physicality and manner of speaking which have already started appearing in his characterisation.

This afternoon Stanley Kadzuwa, now a radio journalist but previously an actor with Nanzikambe came to interview Misheck and I. Stanley first came to Nanzikambe to perform in Chilly Heart (directed by Melissa Eveleigh) in 2003; I also directed him in African Macbeth and A Flea in Her Ear, so we go way back! It was a delight to see him, and I hope he will give us good coverage on his programme on MIJ radio.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

A visit from an ex-prisoner


Today one of the prisoners we met in Chichiri came to see us. He has just been released, and was dressed extremely smartly in jacket, crisp white shirt and tie and a big grin. He sat and watched rehearsals for a while, and joined in when we were recording one of the songs. It is a hymn of thanks the prisoners at Mikuyu sang when they were released, so it was particularly pleasing to have our very own released prisoner join us. The actors had a whip round to give him a little money to cover his transport costs (he can't afford the bus fare to visit his mother in Ntcheu) and to welcome him out of prison, which was really nice of them, as they themselves are only on a modest daily allowance.

We ran the first half of the play - it took 55 minutes which is at least 10 minutes too long. However, this should tighten up by at least that. If not, I am going to have to do some ruthless cutting. I hope not, as I can't think of anything which could easily go at the moment.

The best thing about this week though, is the stage roof is now about 2 metres higher. A relief to everyone and I'm amazed at how quickly you can get things done in Malawi if you put your mind to it!

Publicity has started to take off, too ... there was a centre page spread (with pictures) which was an interview with me in the Sunday Times, this morning Misheck and I were interviewed for Capital FM (the most popular radio station) and next wednesday we're being interviewed on TVM (Television Malawi). Hopefully this is just the start - posters are out, the FaceBook event has been created and an SMS (text messaging) campaign is slated for the middle of next week. So if we aren't a sell-out, it's nobody's fault!

Saturday 18 February 2012

The rain, the rain ...


This morning we recorded some of the sound effects and background songs for the show. These actors are fabulous – The Lord Is My Shepherd sung in Chichewa in 4 part harmony seems to be so easy for them and it sounds magnificent. This is for the scene in which some of the condemned prisoners are taken away to be executed. In Mikuyu this happened every six months and no one knew whether it their name that was to be called, or whether they could live for another six months. Finding a way to do this scene has been tricky, but I think it’s going to work.

I’m now sitting in a café having eaten my nsima (thick maize porridge) and fried chicken, listening to the torrential rain on the tin roof. Which is leaking. My computer keeps doing strange things so I am now worried that the damp is getting to it. I will be backing up everything to my external hard drive this evening, not a moment too soon for my peace of mind.

The rain means we can’t work – the stage is waiting for it’s roof (should be up tomorrow ready for rehearsals on Monday) and the room at The Warehouse leaks so badly that we may as well be outside. So we’re waiting for the rain to stop, and judging by the huge crash of thunder and flash of lightning that just happened, it may take some time.

Maybe I’ll use the time to ring Brown Mpinganjira …

Thursday 16 February 2012

towards the end of week two

We have a script! Well, very nearly. The marvellous Aaron Ngalonde, who is playing Brown Mpinganjira, has offered to write two of the final scenes. He's busy tapping away at his laptop and as soon as he's done the play is finished. The plan is to take it to the Censorship Board for classification tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, as they have immense power and if they decide they think it breaks any of the incredibly vague criteria by which they judge these things, they can pull the plug completely. Fortunately it is a very high profile project in terms of the local press, so I'm hoping they won't have the nerve to object.

Today has been a strange day - no rehearsals, as Misheck Mzumara (who is playing Jack) has had to attend a meeting in Lilongwe in his capacity as senior management of Nanzikambe. So Aaron and I have been working on finalising the script. The other news is that work has begun on the stage - I pointed out when I arrived that the curved roof is far too low to be workable as a stage for anything other than stand up comedy as it's like performing in a tunnel and any performer who stands more than a metre upstage cannot be seen. It seems that when the structure was moved from their last home, it was cut down to fit the area available - no-one noticed that in so doing the roof was lowered considerably. Fortunately once I pointed out the impossibility of actually rigging any lights, Chris Nditani the MD could see the problem so they are quite literally raising the roof!

Tomorrow we will work at The Warehouse - a performance venue in Blantyre which is being most kindly lent to us by Thom Chibambo for the next couple of days while the building works happen at Nanzikambe. I shall make sure that they get full credit in the programme and any press interviews I do. It is wonderful that arts organisations here are willing to help each other (this is not how it always is).

Still no sign of Brown Mpinganjira though ...

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Brown Mpinganjira

Valentine's Day

Much excitement this morning, as on my third attempt I managed not only to get the right number for Brown Mpinganjira but also to catch him at a time when he could answer his phone. For the uninitiated, Brown Mpinganjira was a journalist in Malawi during Banda's rule, and was imprisoned with Jack Mapanje in Mikuyu prison. He is in fact a major character in the play, and the actors are very keen to get the chance to ask him about his experiences.

Of course he is now a very famous man, known as BJ to many and a popular politician in Joyce Banda's new party, opposing the Goverment. So I tell him I am a friend of Jack Mapanje, and he immediately agrees to meet the cast, even offering to come to our rehearsal studio himself. This was meant to be this morning, but it is now 3.45pm and no sign. But this is Africa, where time does not run in the same manner as the UK, so I have high hopes that we will indeed be meeting him before too long.

As for the rehearsals - very interesting. We tried a run through of what we've done so far but it was not that useful as the actors were using it as an opportunity to try to learn their lines (this is how they're used to working here) so it was INCREDIBLY slow! We have now had a discussion about how we do not have enough time for them to use rehearsals as a place for line-learning ... as a result the afternoon session was fab.

The work we are creating is not what they are used to; these actors have only had one director in the past few years, and she was a physical theatre practitioner. Which in this case meant masks, chorus work and creating the environment with their bodies. This show has practical props and no masks ... although it is fast moving, transitioning from scene to scene quickly with actors playing multiple roles, and also includes poems interspersed with the action, it is more naturalistic than anything else they've done in recent years and they are loving it!

Sunday 12 February 2012

End of the first week

13th February 2012. Monday

So here I am at the start of another week. Last week was amazing – we worked through the first half of the play, and set several poems, including Skipping Without Ropes. Strangely, this the most famous of Jack’s poems was not included in the book; when I asked Jack if I could use it anyway, his response was “yes, by all means include Skipping without ropes in your performance. It was edited out by some unknown editor of the memoir” … so it’s in. And looking really great – I think it will be a highlight of the show.

On Friday we went into Chichiri prison where Nanzikambe Arts run a regular workshop with 20 young prisoners. It was exciting, fascinating and exhausting in equal measure. The Nanzikambe company performed a scene from And Crocodiles are Hungry at Night, and then the prisoners improvised scenes showing the first night in prison as they experienced it. There was no holding back – they showed how the ‘new boys’ are fought over for sexual favours and the potential wealth they may have. How the sleeping arrangements are appalling – there is no room to lie down, they sleep sitting up with their legs bent from lock up at 3.30pm till they are let out at around 8am the next morning. They showed how they use smuggled marijuana to get through the days. However, in spite of the terrible conditions, these young men were so energetic, open and straightforward. They performed with gusto and we finished with a traditional dance which we all joined in (even me!).

So now our actors have a better understanding of what it is like to be incarcerated. Let’s see what differences there are in rehearsals.

Saturday 4 February 2012

And Crocodiles are Hungry at Night - the journey begins

4th February 2012. Saturday

This is my second full day in Blantyre and I have already had two encounters which shape my ideas on how to adapt Jack’s memoir for the stage.

The first is with Ben Mankhamba, a well-known local musician with whom I am lodging. As I talk about the play, he suddenly becomes engaged when I speak about Mercy. “But how did it affect her?” he asks. When I tell him that soon after his imprisonment Jack’s salary was stopped and his wife Mercy was evicted from the university property together with their three children, he asks “is this in the play?”. “It’s a true story”, I say.

Suddenly he is angry. This morning he is sitting writing a song inspired by Mercy. I realise again that this story must be told through those affected – it’s not just politics, it’s real people in pain, and that’s what touches us.

The second encounter is with the lady who runs the Central Bookshop in Blantyre. She is from the Netherlands originally but has lived in Malawi for more than 50 years. I am looking for an anthology of Jack’s poems as I had left mine behind in the rush to pack. She doesn’t have any of his work on sale – she did have Of Chameleons and Gods and Chattering Wagtails but has sold out. In conversation, she says “it’s such a pity he is so bitter against Malawi. We were all supportive of him at the time but …” She clearly believes that he should be over it by now, and feels uncomfortable by the searing rage which leaps out of the page through his poems. I am more determined than ever to present the story truthfully in all its pain and rage. I’m sure that she is not alone in her opinions that those who suffered under Banda’s regime should forgive and forget. I hope that they will all come to see the play and begin to understand; there has been no ‘truth and reconciliation’ in Malawi, no apology, no understanding, no recompense for the victims of Banda’s brutal regime. It is time.