Umuntu, Ngumuntu, Ngabantu: The Story of African Choir, 1891-1893. Performing Identities in Victorian Britain

乌蒙图、恩古蒙图、恩加班图：非洲合唱团的故事，1891-1893 年。

• 批准号: AH/E009972/1
• 负责人: Jane Collins
• 金额: $ 2.08万
• 依托单位: University of the Arts London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FE009972%2F1
• 关键词: Umuntu; Ngumuntu; Ngabantu; Story; African

This research project will result in the production of a new full length work for the stage which investigates the construction of identity and the presentation of 'self' by a group of young black South African performers at the end of the 19th century. The work draws parallels between production and reception of works for the stage then and current readings of work from the African continent. This phase of the project is being developed collaboratively between the Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg, the Grahamstown International Festival in South Africa and Wimbledon College of Art in the UK. It is the continuation of a research project that was initially funded by an AHRB Small Grant in the Creative and Performing Arts in 2004.Between 1891-1893 a South African choir toured England,Scotland and Ireland to raise funds for a technical school to provide education for the expanding black labour force in the diamond mines in Kimberley The tour ran into financial difficulties and the choir, all of whom were committed Christians, were forced to take radical measures to attract larger audiences. These included the adoption of a form of 'native' dress for parts of the performance as well as a number of 'stagings' of traditional rituals and ceremonies for the 'delectation' of the British public. Discourses around morals and sartorial representation in the minds of Victorian audiences were inextricably linked to a contemporary world view which saw the clothing of the 'heathen' as part of the redemptive work of the missionary project whilst at the same time retaining a taste for the commodification of Africa through the staging of the unredeemed 'exotic other.' The questions this research asked at the outset were: How complicit were the members of the choir in this depiction of themselves?How much was this presentation due to the demands of the box-office?How much were they knowingly pandering to the desires of Victorian audiences?A two-week investigative workshop was conducted at the Market Theatre Laboratory which is the training and experimental wing of the Market Theatre in April 2006, culminating in a presentation to an invited audience. The importance of the work as a revelation of 'hidden history' and its contribution to contemporary debates concerned with identity in South Africa was affirmed by those present. This phase of research will enable me to develop the work into a full length performance using the methodology developed and tested in the initial workshop. The medium of performance is used to investigate the production and reception of performance. The performers cast the audience in the role of 19th century spectators; they control and direct the eye of the audience back on itself, playing on the assumptions of the 'colonial gaze' while simultaneously revealing current perceptions and predjudices. The process will be documented by Professor Viv Gardner of Manchester University. This practice-led research is a discrete part of a larger initiative aimed at fostering dialogue and sharing knowledge on issues relating to the visual in performance being developed by the Market Theatre and Wimbledon College of Art. These include staff/student exchanges and the joint curatorship of an exhibition of photographs that record 30 years of production at the Market, to be held at London's Royal National Theatre in March 2007. \

这个研究项目将导致一个新的全长工作的阶段，调查身份的建设和“自我”的介绍一组年轻的南非黑人表演者在19世纪世纪末的生产。该作品将当时舞台作品的制作和接受与目前对非洲大陆作品的解读进行了比较。该项目的这一阶段是由约翰内斯堡的市场剧院实验室、南非的格拉姆斯敦国际艺术节和英国的温布尔登艺术学院合作开发的。这是一个研究项目的继续，该项目最初是由AHRB在2004年的创意和表演艺术小额赠款资助的。1891-1893年之间，一个南非合唱团在英格兰，苏格兰和爱尔兰巡回演出，为一所技术学校筹集资金，为金伯利钻石矿不断扩大的黑人劳动力提供教育。他们都是虔诚的基督徒，被迫采取激进的措施来吸引更多的观众。这些措施包括采用一种“本土”服装的形式作为表演的一部分，以及一些传统仪式和仪式的“舞台”，以“取悦”英国公众。在维多利亚时代的观众心目中，围绕道德和服装代表性的话语与当代世界观密不可分，这种世界观将“异教徒”的服装视为传教计划救赎工作的一部分，同时通过上演未被救赎的“异国情调的他者”来保留对非洲商品化的品味。这项研究一开始就提出了这样的问题：合唱团的成员在这种对自己的描述中有多同谋？这场演出多少是出于票房的需要？他们在多大程度上有意迎合维多利亚时代观众的欲望？2006年4月，在市场剧院实验室举办了为期两周的调查讲习班，该实验室是市场剧院的培训和实验部门，最后向受邀观众作了介绍。在场的人肯定了这部作品作为“隐藏的历史”的揭示的重要性及其对当代有关南非身份的辩论的贡献。这一阶段的研究将使我能够使用在最初的研讨会上开发和测试的方法将工作发展成一个完整的长度性能。以表演为媒介，考察表演的生产与接受。表演者将观众塑造成世纪观众的角色;他们控制并引导观众的目光回到自己身上，在“殖民凝视”的假设上发挥作用，同时揭示当前的看法和偏见。曼彻斯特大学的Viv Gardner教授将记录这一过程。这项以实践为导向的研究是一项更大的倡议的一个独立部分，该倡议旨在促进对话，并分享与市场剧院和温布尔登艺术学院正在开发的视觉表演相关的问题的知识。将于2007年3月在伦敦的皇家国家剧院举行。\