Three top plays on menu for Namibian theatre fest

‘The Teacher’, which deals with Namibian teachers’ struggle with English as a medium of instruction, will form part of the fifth annual theatre festival of Committed Artists of Namibia (CAN).

It is among three plays from southern Africa that will be staged between April and September at the Ultimate Theatre in the Eldorado school hall in Khomasdal, Windhoek.The other two are dramas by acclaimed South African playwright, Athol Fugard – ‘Play Land’ and ‘Sizwe Bansi is Dead’.’The Teacher’, described as ‘hard-hitting, contemporary and timeless’, is the work of wellknown Namibian theatre artist, Frederick B Philander.’It exposes the linguistic and other weaknesses within the Namibian education system via a Namibian night class situation,’ CAN said in a statement on the festival.”The Teacher’ is not the product of a writer who wishes to see his society fails, but it is a work of a person who gives voice to his own disillusionment as well as popular disappointment with the achievements of post-colonial Namibia in the same way as Nobel literature winner, Wole Soyinka, and Kenyan playwright, Wa Thiongo, have done with reference to Nigeria and Kenya,’ Andries Oliphant, professor in literature at the University of South Africa (Unisa), said in a critical analysis of the published work.’Play Land’ deals with the relationship between a night watchman and a former Koevoet member in the South West African Territory Force; ‘Sizwe Bansi is Dead’ depicts the life of an unemployed black man restricted by many apartheid laws.CAN also announced the publication of artistic director Frederick B Philander’s latest book, ‘Prejudice, a selection of six Southern African suspense stories’, which is set to be launched later this year.The theatre festival will be partially financed by the Namibia National Arts Council.Those interested in parts in the three plays can contact Philander at 0817172406.