Asoka Theatre: SA’s forgotten gem
TASHMEER CHETTY
IT HAS been decades since the old Drama Department and Asoka Theatre at the University of Durban-Westville (now UKZN Westville) had closed its doors for good. Years later, Asoka stands there with a haunting look- abandoned: a sad testament of a once blooming environment of rich culture and history, now left in the dark.
The University of Durban-Westville was built as a means of more accessible tertiary education for the Indian community during the infamous apartheid regime. Along with it came thriving departments that catered for various fields of study, of which the Drama Department was one of them.
Asoka Theatre, nestled in the heart of what is now a shady area of the UKZN Westville Campus, was built to replicate London’s Questors Theatre and served as a playground for drama students and theatre enthusiasts. Asoka also served as an abode for the genre of Indic Theatre- Performing Arts of the Indian diaspora - though it welcomed the likes of multi-racial perspectives and interests from far and wide.
Asoka Theatre and the drama department had hosted and produced an endless list of doyens, whose names often go unheard of.
For instance, the likes of Professor Suria Govender, a dancer and ex-lecturer at the department. Govender, trained in Bharatanatyam and an intercultural practioner, went on to direct multiple plays and form the acclaimed SuriaLanga Dance Company. It was during my rendezvous with Ashwin Singh, a theatre maker, that I discovered that Govender debuted her company at the inaugural ceremony of President Nelson Mandela in 1994.
This was after she became inspired by his notions of interculturalism. Furthermore, among many other illustrious achievements, SuriaLanga was invited to perform at the Durban Playhouse for the Duke of Edinburg and Queen Elizabeth.
Another, Professor Devi Bughwan, is a name that holds a high level of respect. Considered to be the first of many, Bughwan went on the become the first Indian woman to receive a Master’s degree in English in 1949, followed by a doctorate in literature. Years later in 1975, Bughwan became the first person of colour to become a professor of drama in the country - right here at the UDW Drama Department. Unfortunately, these are only a part of her many achievements.
Famed actors and personalities, such as Jailoshini Naidoo, Leeanda Reddy, Pat Pillai, Kubeshan Naidoo and Kumseela Naidoo, were trained under the department.
Culturally and historically, Asoka Theatre holds as much, if not more, significance as the likes of Market Theatre in Johannesburg and Baxter in Cape Town. Asoka paved way for the creativity of many, producing beautiful works that not only experimented with new concepts, but also allowed for the daring expression of theatre makers through hard-hitting pieces that reflected the times they lived in.
Take Dr Satchu Annamalai’s Three Hand, Six Foot, a play that traced Indian history in KwaZulu-Natal up to the point of the play’s release. Using the extinct art form, Therukuthoo or Six-Foot Dancing, it dealt with issues of race, power and how the ever-changing times and its notions clashed with orthodox beliefs. The play debuted at Asoka and went on tour nationally, as well as internationally.
My big dream, as a theatre enthusiast, was to re-open Asoka one day and stage one of the first plays released at the theatre - Masks by Dr Muthal Naidoo.
Sadly, this dream may never come true. In the meantime, we must try to honour Asoka and its league, for they forged a large part of our theatric history, not only for the Indian Diaspora, but for the country as a whole.
Tashmeer Chetty, 19, is an actor, write and student at UKZN
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.