Designing the Protest-Demolitions, Human Rights and Democracy in Post-2000 Zimbabwe in Demolishing Democracy (2015)

Abstract

Stage design as a process and the concept is drawn from and based on the script, thereby becoming reflective of the script and its thematic concerns. This realization informed the thrust of this investigation on contemporary protest theatre and its scenographic designs. The study investigates how scenographic elements employed in protest theatre enriches the concept of ‘protest’. The assessment is on the play Demolishing Democracy (2015) and its use of costume, props, set and scenic design in relation to the thematic concerns. Scenography and design is an alternative mode which deepens the concept of protest in protest theatre, it goes beyond dialogue in the fabrication of different meanings in the communicative process. The study employs semiotics (a concept focusing on the use of visual signs onstage) in assessing the design of the play. The researcher recommends that there be vibrant a relationship between theatre training college and the art industry in Zimbabwe.
Keywords: scenography, design, protest theatre, human rights, democracy, Demolishing Democracy, post-2000 Zimbabwe