Breaking The Pot

An adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's "A DOLL HOUSE" – 1879; | By Thoko Kapiri and Karl Hoff– in collaboration with the cast and Melissa Eveleigh

Chikondi sikulamula! Tonse ndi anthu! (Love is not oppression! All are Human!)

Funded by the Norwegian Embassy, this project encompassed the following:

• Extensive cross cultural collaborative adaptation process – deconstructing the original text and rewriting it in the modern Malawian context.
• Actor training and script development workshops, including guest training from James Cuningham of Fresco Theatre, South Africa
• National tour – the widest of its kind in Malawi, reaching parts of the country who have never been visited by a touring theatre group.
• Regional tour – to Grahamstown Festival in South Africa
• Published text
• DVD Documentary of the entire process

The 19th Century Norwegian text is given new life in a language that is part Chichewa, part English, and that consistently reflects the tone, language construction, speech patterns, illusions and cultural references that are spoken throughout urban Malawi. The adaptation roots the modern story of an aspirant middle class family, The Jeres in traditional Ngoni culture. Thematically, this draws attention to traditional Ngoni concepts of masculinity and the pressures placed upon men to conform to the ideal, that still exist within the modernising urban world. Theatrically, the realistic setting of The Jere's sitting room is floating in the centre of the set, which is ultimately occupied by the Chorus. The Chorus represent the context in which the story unfolds, bring alive key moments from Nora's past, and also set the action against live song and percussion – both traditional and original. Nora's secret has been carefully adapted to draw significant attention to the pervasive presence of corruption in Malawian society, and the doctor's illness has been changed to represent the tragedy of HIV and AIDS.

At every opportunity, Ibsen's words, action, characters and themes are transformed to bring out specific localised meaning.  Western symbolism is substituted wherever this felt appropriate – the mail box of the original, which is crucial for holding threatening information, is replaced by Jere's grandmother to present a view of the formidable presence of matriarchal extended family, for example. The Tarantella is expressed through a woman's version of Ngoma, dance of the Ngoni – her distortion of this becomes Vimbusa - a traditional ritual dance performance of exorcising evil spirits – and expresses her 'extreme state of voicelessness'.

Among the endless questions considered during the adaptation and rehearsal process, does this relationship truly reflect the concerns of women in their marriages today in Malawi? Many collaborators felt there should be violence – in the end it was decided that the problem of male superiority and domination is a complex and far reaching concern, of which physical violence is only one facet. Nora and Madalitso Jere loved each other AS BEST THEY COULD, so long as the TRUTH was hidden. Once the truth is exposed, their true selves are irreconcilable.

Nora's words spoken here, now in Malawi demand for human respect and dignity. She expresses a human cry for change in the relationship between men and women and entry into a more modern and just world, as she did in Ibsen's day, and as she has done across the world in many countries since she first spoke out in 1879.

HOW IT CAME TO BE>>