| Aboneh Ashagre Associate professor-AAU The first theatrical performance in our country was staged in 1921 in Addis Ababa through the efforts of Tekle Hawariat Tekle Mariam Wayeh. Here is how it started. |
Heruy Wolde Selassie, Mayor of Addis Ababa at the time, invited Tekle Hawariat Teklemariam to watch a “ theatre.” TekleHawariat accepted the invitation, and was present at the Terrace Hotel (the present Mega Arts Center) together with members of the royal family and the nobility. The mayor went on to the stage and explained that the day’s theatrical performance was to be staged by the theatrical association of young Ethiopians. The show then started with musicians playing the“Medina” and “Zelesegna”, (traditional religious music). A musician then appeared with his masinko(a traditional one-stringed musical instrument) singing in “kine”, (music using language with hidden meanings) which the audience found very funny and entertaining. Lastly a female artist performed the ‘eskista’ (traditional shoulder dance). Such an organized performance was a new experience to the audience which discussed the performance loudly. To Tekle Hawariat, however, it was clear that much was missing. He was disappointed with the lack of ventilation and stage lighting as well as with the commotion he observed. What was even more disappointing for Tekle Hawariat was that what was staged that day was declared a theatrical performance.
Tekle Hawariat, who had been abroad for studies,then decided to introduce proper drama, like the plays that he had watched in places like St. Petersburg, London, and Paris; he knew it would take too long to write new plays. He decided to use “Fabula”, the book of fables that he had published in 1912 and presented to Abeto Iyassu, then crown prince. He then wrote a play for the stage using the story of the animals in his book. The play was named “The comedy of Animals” and was performed by the members of the Theatrical Association of young Ethiopians who were trained and directed by himself. The play was staged at the then Terrace Hotel (the present Mega Theatre opposite Tewodros Square) in 1921 in the presence of His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince Teferi Makonnen, members of the royal family and the nobility. The audience was loudly discussing the play and making its views heard simultaneously with the performance of the play in action.
There was no stage lighting and the light coming through the widows was not enough to enable the audience to watch the performance without difficulty. The members of the royal family and the nobility were impressed with the new Art. Out of the three thousand copies of the play that Tekle Hawariat had ordered to be printed, three hundred copies were sold on the day the play was first staged. However, rumors soon spread that the play was politically motivated and that it was criticizing the existing regime. The very next day, Empress Zewditu ordered that the play should never again be performed and that all the printed copies of the play (whether sold or unsold) should be collected.
This notwithstanding, plays were being staged at the close of the academic years in the Menelik II and Teferi Makonnen schools. These plays were produced by foreign teachers of the schools and performed by the students of the respective schools. In the process, two Ethiopian teachers of Ethics, Amharic and Music in these schools, were learning the art from the foreign teachers. Yoftahe Negussie and Melaku Begossew, following in the footsteps of TekleHawariat, laid a strong foundation for the development of the art. Beginning in 1927, they presented several plays in schools as well as in the palace as their plays were not deemed offensive to the government. Consequently, Theatrical Art started to be recognized, liked and respected by the people of Addis Ababa. The growing popularity of theatrical performances raised the demand for places for staging plays on a regular basis.
Under the direction of the then Minister of Education, Blaten Geta Sahle Tsedalu, a Theatre was built in the Menelik II compound. The Theatre was inaugurated in November, 1935 with a performance of Melaku Begossew’s play, “The Great Judge.” Following this, the Theatre became the first Theatre in Addis Ababa where plays were staged on a regular basis. Two performances were presented each week. A sum of money was charged for admission. It was in this same Theatre that Yoftahe Negussie’s Amharic play, whose title can be translated as “ Our Father King; Make Sure Our Border Is Sacrosanct”, was shown. This play was produced to rally the public under an anti-fascist theme and against the Italian banner shortly before Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia. After the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1936 Yoftahe and Melaku had to leave the country. Very soon, Italian plays started to be staged at the Cinemas.
After the liberation of the country in 1941 until April 1942 Yoftahe Negussie produced and directed no less than four plays which were staged at the Grand palace, the offices of the Patriotic Association (now Arada Court). This heralded the resurrection of Ethiopian drama.
Makonnen Habte Wold, a government official, used to assemble people every Sunday in a small hall in the compound of the present Hager Fikir Theatre, a hall which used to serve as a recreation centre for fascist officers. There, Makonnen used to give political speeches to his audience. Having observed that the number of people coming to attend was gradually decreasing, he thought ical he thought of a plan to make the weekly political sessions more interesting. He organized a music and drama group under the directorship of Beshah Tekle Mariam. The first professional drama group was organized on May, 1942 in the same hall.
On the inauguration day, Makonnen made a long speech to the assembled people. Next came a presentation of medina and zelesegna songs propagandizing to the audience that Ethiopia regained its liberty through the leadership of Emperor Haile Selassie I and God’s will. The program continued with the presentation of traditional music and dance. The next item was the presentation of patriotic songs and exhortations. The audience was worked up into frenzy. After things had settled down, three short plays were presented. Makonnen, during the intermissions, took the opportunity to make political speeches dealing with liberty, patriotism, and wisdom.
The residents of Addis Ababa were gradually being attracted to these shows and started to pay entrance charges to enjoy the plays that were staged. The plays, though, were not formally written. Madonnen used to explain to the actors the gist of the play and the actors would then improvise on stage.
During this period, there existed political infighting between the patriotic forces and the exiles and those who had collaborated treacherously with the Italian occupiers. Key members of the Hager Fikir Association like Yoftahe Negussie, with the help of the then Mayor of Addis Ababa Dejazmach Demissie Amanuel, established their own organization. The Addis Ababa Municipality Theatre and Music popularization Office was established in the month of November 1946.
Yoftahe Negussie, who was vice president of the House of Representatives or the Ethiopian Parliament, inclined more on organizing and directing the popularization office. The newly organized drama group was inaugurated in 1946 by Afework Adafre’s play, the title of which can be translated as “Pure Blood”. The play was staged at the small capacity Municipality Hall (present day Arada Court). Awalachew Dejene and Tesfaye Sahulu acted in the play . The group also used to stage plays at the Patroits’ Association Office located at Arat Kilo.
The Addis Ababa Municipality Drama Group is recognized fro introducing the country’s first professional actress, Selamawit G. Selassie. Male actors had previously acted in female roles.
The Hager Fikir Association Building was first renovated in 1955 for the purpose of holding a photograph exhibition depicting the Emperor’s visit to the United States of America. Expansion work was done on the building in the following two years which, more or less, gave it its present shape. At the same time, based on a proposal by the Mayor, Blata Zewde Belaynesh, it was decided to build a big modern theatre at the place where the present Addis Ababa Municipality building is erected. However, because it would have been impossible to start and finish the construction in time for the occasion of the Emperor’s Coronation Silver Jubilee, it was decided to complete the construction work on Cinema Marconi (Cinema Adwa) which had been started by the Italians. This 1500 seat magnificent modern Theatre which, to this day, has no equal, was ing\augurrated on November 1955 named Haile Selassie I Theatre after the Emperor, (now National Theatre) with the staging of a play called ”David and Orion”. This play was written by Bitwoded Makonen Endalkachew, Ethiopia’s Prime Minster at the time, and was directed by Francis Zulbecker. As a result of its merger with the theatre group of the Hager Fikir Association of the Municipality, it lost its autonomy. The seats fixed in the new theatre were of European standard. The sound system, however, was poor. Tape recorders were used and to create some sound effects. This damaged the doors.
Professional like Tsegaye Gebre Medhin Mengistu Lemma, Abate Mekuria and Tesfaye Gessesse, who had developed their expertise in Theatre arts through education and personal effort, helped in developing the art by writing realistic plays, acting and introducing directing techniques. They ere also instrumental in the introduction of plays based on social and political subjects and freeing plays form the domination of religious and moral themes.
The Drama Society of the University College of Addis Ababa once performed Tsegaye Gebre Medhin’s English play, ”Theodros” at the Ras Makonnen Hall of the University. The Emperor was so impressed that he ordered the establishment in 1963 of the Bete-Kinetibebat We-the-atre (the present Cultural Centre). This centre was engaged in staging a number of famous European and American Plays.
Until the middle of the 1970s people like Matewos Bekele (who established the first private drama troupe), Melaku Ashagre and Eyoel Yohannes used to tour the country trying to popularize drama. They were so successful that performing plays during Parents’ Day in rural schools had become a tradition.
After the 1974 Revolution, the plays staged reflected the political heat of the period. Until 1976, the plays were based on subjects dealing with political, economic and social problems existing under the previous government. Later, until 1979, the plays usually reflected the views and propaganda of the poetical organizations that were allied to the military government. Historical plays were also being staged. In this period, other theatres like the Municipality Theatre and Culture Hall as well as Ras Theatre were also used for staging the plays. With the calming down of the political temperature, the themes of the plays presented to the public after 1981 were gradually changed form political to social.
The first play specifically produced for children, “Gobeze”, was staged in 1982 at the National Theatre. The Hager Fikir Association Theatre and Ras Theatre followed suit. In 1989 the former Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Hall at Arat Kilo started to stage plays dedicated for children and the youth.
When EPRDF came to power in 1991, new developments appeared with regard to the Arts. The first and most conspicuous was the closing down of the office of censorship. In line with the principle of freedom of expression, laws were passed prohibiting censorship. As a result, plays in numerous Ethiopian languages, which previously were not in use for drama, started being produced. Eight additional theatre halls have come on stream in Addis Ababa-the Mega Amphitheatre, Pushkin Arts Centre, Alem, Sebastopol, Kokeb and Agona Cinema. The other two are situated in BahrDar and Mekele. It is envisaged that all regional states will build their own theatre halls. Cornerstones have already been laid for the building of theatre halls in Mekele, Bahir Dar, Awassa and in Oromia. The Oromia Region, in addition has also acquired land to build cultural centres in each of the ten sub cities of Addis Ababa.
Plays performed on radio and television in the last fie years have grown in number and improved in quality. More than six hundred plays have been performed on the sages of Addis Ababa. The commencement of postgraduate studies in Theatre in Development at Addis Ababa University at the end of the second Millennium is a beacon of hope that the performing arts will grow even faster.
