23/02/2026
Preserving History Through Theatre in Botswana 🎭🇧🇼
Preparation, in theatre, is rarely just about learning lines or perfecting movement. For us, it begins long before the rehearsal room opens — in conversations with elders, in memories shared across generations, and in the quiet responsibility of asking how history should be remembered. As we prepared to explore the Tale of Ahmed De Geer, we found ourselves returning to an essential question: how do we preserve history in a way that feels alive?
Botswana’s history is rich with stories carried through oral tradition — dikgosi gathered beneath trees to deliberate, families passing wisdom through storytelling, and communities shaping identity through collective memory. Theatre allows us to honor that tradition. It becomes a living archive, where voices once unheard are given breath again and moments long past step forward into the present.
Our preparation demanded research beyond books. It required listening — to language, to silence, to gestures that carry meaning deeper than words. We reflected on how colonial encounters, migration, faith, and resilience continue to shape Botswana’s cultural imagination. Every rehearsal became an act of restoration, piecing together fragments of history so they could speak clearly to modern audiences.
In Botswana’s theatrical landscape, preserving history is not nostalgia; it is responsibility. It asks artists to balance truth and interpretation, to protect dignity while inviting dialogue. We were reminded that storytelling is sacred work — especially when representing figures and narratives that shaped who we are today.
As we move toward sharing this work beyond our borders at KITFEST in Kenya, preparation has grounded us in purpose. We do not travel simply as performers, but as custodians of memory. Through movement, sound, and story, we carry Botswana’s past into the future, believing that theatre remains one of the most powerful ways to preserve history — not in museums alone, but in hearts willing to listen.
PC: .marguson
