Address by Dr. The Hon Vasant K. Bunwaree,
MINISTER OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND HUMAN RESOURCES
World Theatre Day Celebrations 2009
Serge Constantin Theatre
Wednesday 25th March 2009 at 16 00 hrs
It is both a pleasure and a matter of pride for me to be among you this afternoon on the
occasion of the celebration of World Theatre Day 2009. Actually my pride and pleasure are
double today because this occasion takes me down memory lane several decades back when I
was myself an enthusiastic stage actor and producer.
I gather that the World Theatre Day was created by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in
1961 and is celebrated annually on 27 March by the ITI Centres and the International Theatre
Community at large. Various national and international events are organized to mark the
occasion. In Mauritius, the Ministry concerned has been celebrating World Theatre Day
every year since 1998 through events and activities destined to sensitize people towards
theatre.
The inaugural celebration in1998 was a national symposium on theatre with major
stakeholders of the Mauritian theatre society. Since then theatre activities such as festivals,
talks, get-together of stage artists and presentation of plays have been organized in
collaboration with primary schools, colleges, reform institutions, rehabilitation centres,
Municipal and District Councils. This year too, World Theatre Day is once again being
organized with the collaboration of all Municipal and District Councils across the country
from 25 March to 4 April. The occasion is marked by no less than ten drama activities.
Each year on World Theatre Day, a renowned theatre personality or a person outstanding in
heart and spirit from another field is invited by the ITI to share his or her reflections on
theatre and international harmony with the entire world theatre community. In keeping with
that tradition, this year’s message has come from Augusto Boal, a Brazilian theatre director,
writer and activist. The message is thought-provoking. I have picked out a few extracts for
your kind appreciation:

All human societies are spectacular in their daily life and produce spectacles at
special moments. They are spectacular as a form of social organization and produce
spectacles…

Even if one is unaware of it, human relationships are structured in a theatrical
way…Everything that we demonstrate on the stage, we live in our lives. We are
theatre…

We are all artists…Doing theatre throws light on the stage of daily life.
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
When we look beyond appearances, we see oppressors and oppressed people, in all
societies…We see an unfair and cruel world. We have to create another world
because we know it is possible. But it is up to us to build this other world with our
hands and by acting on the stage in our own life.

We are all actors: being a citizen is not living in society, it is changing it.
How beautifully Boal binds stage-acting to real life! I am reminded of the all too famous
piece in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It which I have the pleasure to quote:
All the world’s a stage
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages……….
At first the infant.
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the canon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
It has been rightly said that theatre is not only the mirror of society but also a constant
challenge for artistic expression. Theatre moves, illuminates, disquiets, lifts the spirits,
reveals, provokes and violates conventions.
Acting is a natural art. It has been the companion of man all throughout his long journey from
the caves to civilized society. He was able to express his mind and emotions and relate
incidents using hand gestures, signs and sounds probably well before he could speak. The
Langage des Signes used for another purpose today gives an idea of how those people must
have managed to convey their thoughts and feelings through the medium of acting.
Thus throughout the epochs preceding the advent of technology, theatre, in its varied forms,
has been the platform for the expression of human emotions.
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Mauritius too had its heyday of theatre during colonial rule. While the wealthy classes (
bourgeoisie) could afford the luxury of well organized shows, the common people enjoyed
popular folk theatre commonly known as “Naatak”.
Theatre temporarily came under the threat of extinction with the rise of Cinema, Television
and Digital Media. But now the former theatre-going culture is getting revived probably
because theatre remains the real challenge to authentic acting.
I would now like to outline the activities of the Drama Unit of my Ministry:
o My Ministry has an entire Drama Unit to cater for the promotion of Drama in
Mauritius. Each year we organize National Drama Festivals in ten languages namely
English, French, Creole, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu and
Mandarin. The team of Arts Officers of the Unit conduct workshops to prepare the
participants belonging to all age groups, mostly the youth, for the festivals. Each year
my Ministry brings together approximately 2000 actors through the different media
proposed.
o The Drama Unit comprises a reliable team of seasoned actors and actresses who have
quite long standing experience in their art. They have been able to enrich their skills
further through participation in International Theatre Festivals and by representing the
country in the context of Cultural Exchange with friendly countries.
o Another interesting project which is in the pipeline is the mounting of a course in
acting initiated by the Mauritius Film Development Corporation (MFDC) and which
will be run by the MGI in collaboration with the Drama Unit.
o The Drama Unit has also embarked on a pilot project called Forum Theatre with
students of two prevocational colleges. Forum Theatre comes as a sketch created on
the spot and requiring spontaneous mounting. The idea is to help those students
identify their needs through theatre. Should the project fructify, it will be extended to
other schools.
o In the recent years, the Drama Unit has helped primary school students to unveil their
artistic talents by launching the project Drama Clubs in Primary Schools. Many
schools around the island have created their Drama Clubs and even celebrated World
Theatre Day.
o With a view to building a Theatre Literate Nation, the Drama Unit is implementing
two new projects targeting school children - Primary School Drama Competition and
Secondary School Drama Competition.
In a bid to promote theatre in Mauritius, my Ministry is extending financial assistance as well
as technical support to theatre groups to produce quality full-length plays in languages
spoken in Mauritius. In that connection, the eight selected groups will each be provided with
an amount of Rs. 200,000. In return, every group will have to give two free performances for
the Ministry during the Quinzaine de la Culture Mauricienne scheduled for the end of this
year. The project which is funded by the Human Resource, Knowledge and Art Development
Fund, is expected to boost overall public interest further towards theatre and encourage
budding actors and playwrights to enhance and develop their artistic talents.
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I would like to avail of this opportunity to inform the audience that Dramatics is also on the
list of the short-term courses being run free of charge at all our three Centres de Formation
Artistique situated at Paillotte, Plaines des Papayes and Pointe Canon, Mahebourg.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Theatre is an excellent art which helps a person develop his aesthetical appreciation, his
personality and even mould his character by making him more responsible and disciplined.
Actors also belong to a category of persons who overcome shyness and inhibition. Their
improved self-confidence enables them to interact more comfortably with people of different
backgrounds including interns of rehabilitation centres and prisons.
I would therefore make an appeal to the youth in particular, to practice at least one form of
art. The three Centres de Formation Artistique I mentioned earlier provide training in several
art forms such as painting, dance, pyrography, guitar playing, tabla playing, dramatics, etc.
Moreover, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute and the Conservatoire National de Musique
François Mitterand along with their respective regional centres are offering music courses,
free of charge.
The present times are marked by a proliferation of social evils with devastating
consequences. Stage acting or the practice of any art form will not only check delinquency
but also provide sane relaxation. As you can see, Government is doing its best to orientate the
people towards wholesome entertainment. It is for the people to grab the opportunities
offered.
Unfortunately, the number of Drama Groups in Mauritius is still low probably because
theatre requires big investments. But they are of appreciable level. I would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate the Mauritius Drama League which is celebrating its 30 years of
existence this year. As you must be aware, the Mauritius Drama League has produced a great
variety of plays in English, French and Creole on a wide number of themes comprising
comedy, tragedy, satire and social themes.
I am also pleased to note the fast growing popularity of Comedy plays like those produced by
Komiko. On the other hand, Folk Theatre and Theatre de Rue definitely have a future too.
They all deserve to be encouraged.
The Serge Constantin Theatre at Vacoas, operating under my Ministry is at the disposal of
drama and other groups for the mounting of plays and programmes. The hire rates are very
reasonable and at times we even operate at loss.
To conclude, I convey my best wishes to the entire community involved with the dramatic
art. May you continue to inspire more and more people to reinforce your ranks. Like all other
art forms, theatre will be called upon to contribute its share to the emerging Cultural Industry.
I invite all Mauritians to attend our programmes. Perhaps, by the time you leave the hall, an
actor has already taken birth deep within you.
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