Acclaimed Through Positive Eyes production at Maitisong Festival

Staff Writer | Tuesday April 16, 2013 00:00

Through Positive Eyes, a collaboration with the Art and Global Health Centre at the University of California (Los Angeles) and photographer Gideon Mendel, will be staged on April 17 and 18 at the Careena Centre for Health, and April 19 at Maitisong. The project started in 2010, when the artist encouraged 17 HIV-positive activists in Gauteng to create photo essays about their lives as people living with HIV and AIDS. Impressed by their works, Mendel decided to display their photos in the spiral exhibition called The A.R.T. Show, as well as online.

In April 2012, 12 of the original 17 Through Positive Eyes activists participated in an 11-day intensive workshop with actors from Drama for Life and Themba Interactive. The goal of the workshop was to fuse the visual with live performances, to combat stigma and to strengthen the advocacy potential of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. Through Positive Eyes participants shared their stories and the DFL and Themba Interactive actors - directed by DFL-director Warren Nebe and assistant-director Hamish Neill - transformed the stories into theatre. The unique set design for the show was created by Botswana designer Barati Montshiwa.

The result of the workshop was an honest and powerful production that moved audiences in the sold out performances at the 2012 Drama for Life Sex Actually Festival in Johannesburg. Drama for Life is a Wits University (Johannesburg) based academic programme that uses Applied Theatre and Drama and Drama Therapy to enhance dialogue for purposes of social transformation through research, teaching and learning, and community engagement. Drama for Life and Themba Interactive would like to express their gratitude for the photographs, the words, the stories, and the inspiration of Betty, Bhekisisa, Bongi, Chris, Gugu, Gladys, Lindiwe, Ludick, Mgladzo, Mlungisi, Phindile and Zandi.