Stages calling: Photographs from the Market Theatre by Ruphin Coudyzer

This exhibition, originally mounted in Johannesburg, was curated in London by Pavelka and Collins. It is the first time an exhibition of theatre photography from South Africa has been seen in the UK and raised questions about the role of stage photography in capturing the ephemera of live performance and focused attention on the developments in scenography over the last 30 years in South Africa; how was the early Market Theatre work produced, given the strictures of the apartheid regime; a designer was rarely credited, so who was responsible for the iconic theatrical imagery, captured by Coudyzer, that we in the west associated with the struggle?

The London opening of the exhibition designed by Pavelka with accompanying text edited by Collins was timed to coincide with the Baxter Theatre's restaging of ‘Sizwe Banzi is Dead' by Athol Fugard at the National with the original cast which included John Kani.

Collins chaired a discussion ‘Theatre Agendas' at the National that attempted to address some of the questions raised by the exhibition. In collaboration with UK Arts International this Agendas was aimed at promoting dialogue between theatre practitioners and producers in Africa and Britain. With an invited audience drawn from the academic community and the professional sector, including actors, directors, venue managers and Arts funding bodies, Collins, Kani and Pavelka discussed the imperatives driving the new generation of theatre makers in South Africa and the emergence of a new theatrical aesthetic in the post-apartheid era.

This event was also the platform for the launch of the Africa Consortium UK aimed at developing collaborative projects and links with artists in Africa and the Diaspora of which Collins is a member of the steering committee.

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