Event Details

Mental health in a silent killer lurking in institutions of higher learning. In his study on Mental distress among university students in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, Mutinta (2022) confirms that the prevalence of the distress amongst university students has gone higher. Coincidentally, the RU Applied Theatre class of 2022 collaborated with MEQOQO Playback Theatre Inspired Collective, to present performances on the theme of mental health in institutions of higher learning. On the other hand, Playback Theatre co-founder Jonathan Fox (1994) suggests that “the performance is a test similar to that presented in daily life … taking part in a successful playback performance … is in itself a lesson for life” (Fox, 1994, p. 52). Based on this collaboration, this reflexive article involving students and staff, argues that while research and preparations toward performances are key, holding spaces as a conductor in Playback Theatre is more critical because not only does a conductor hold spaces, but they need to be able to ‘read’ spaces, and to keep such spaces alive, if meaningful conversations are to emerge. However, what happens when the theme is one of the “least spotlighted” (Mutinta, 2022, p. 2); Mental health?

Keywords: Playback Theatre, Conductor, Mental Health , Tellers, Institution of Higher Learning