Drama for Life shines the spotlight on democracy through theatre and dance at this year’s virtual conference and festival.
Life’s Performing Democracy virtual festival is set to take place taking place from Monday, August 16 till Thursday, August 19.
Under the theme The Fire. The Fight | The Fiction?, the free online event is presented by Wits University’s Drama for Life (DFL) department in partnership with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
The 13th DFL conference and festival marks the completion of a three-year research project with NTNU and includes the launch of the latest DFL research publication – an open-access book of research findings from the Theatre in Democracy Project.
Commenting on the event, Dr Petro Janse van Vuuren, Head of Department for Drama for Life says: “I’m so looking forward to the conference and am very excited about all the people who will come and spend time thinking and talking and innovating around how the theatre can become a democratic place again, accessible to all – and a place where things that are not usually seen become visible and are made seen.”
The festival will feature thought-provoking performances, workshops, presentations and interactive sessions that interrogating the role theatre and storytelling can play in nurturing healing, inclusion and equality in a society such as South Africa.
Patrons are urged to come and listen to critical conversations and witness artistic works related to issues of democracy, both historical and contemporary, as “Drama for Life” explores the potential of theatre (and the challenges it faces) in dealing with community-specific democratic issues.
The festival is free and open to all to attend.