-published in Portuguese by Proler Magazine, Maputo, Mozambique, Winter 2008 and Notícias - Cultura, Maputo, Mozambique, August, 27, 2008, p.5Lucrecia Paco and Mutumbela Gogo are two of Mozambique’s national treasures. Step inside the doors of Teatro Avenida, and although you might not understand Portuguese, you will leave surprised and impressed by what is happening on stage in this small corner of the world. Watch Lucrecia Paco deliver a monologue and you will be moved by a talent that transcends any linguistic barrier.
Following independence, theatre quickly became one of Mozambique’s most popular and accessible art forms. In the early years, various community and amateur groups sprang up, especially in the capital. Once such group was Tchova Xita Duma (roughly translated from the local Shangana dialect as “give the cart a push to get it going”). The name and the group reflect the self-starter spirit that has characterized Mozambique’s theatre scene from birth til present.
Manuela Soeiro, currently the director of Teatro Avenida, says she asked the young actors of Tchova Xita Duma (where she was then the director) if they wanted to form a professional theatre company. Although she was criticized by some for her “capitalist” ideas, the members of the Tchova Xita Duma troupe were eager to see if it was possible to make a living from the art they loved.
Lucrecia Paco was one of the young actresses from Tchova Xita Duma who Manuela invited to become part of the country’s first professional theatre company, named Mutumbela Gogo (meaning “the masked
one”).Although Lucrecia knew from an early age that she wanted to pursue her passion for acting, this decision was not made easy by her family. Manuela tells of the time Lucrecia asked her to come home to speak with her father who thought that acting “was a joke,” and felt that Lucrecia shouldn’t give up her academic studies to play around in the theatre.
That day, Manuela promised Lucrecia’s father that “she would put his daughter up there [she points] with the stars.” He asked if Lucrecia would succeed, and Manuela assured him, “yes, she has talent.”
Today, Manuela has fulfilled the promise she made to Lucrecia’s father (now deceased). Recognized as Mozambique’s “best actress” in TV Zine’s first annual “DaVinci” awards, Lucrecia is a top-notch artist who regularly receives invitations from theatre festivals and groups around the world. Besides performing roles in Portuguese and local dialects, Lucrecia speaks French, Spanish and English, and understands German, which has opened many doors for her abroad.
“Bit by bit, she gained the knowledge and the technique of the theatre, and at the same time, the spirit of the actor entered her. She studied, autodidactically. She worked on her roles, she read, she researched, she worked very hard. She could have had a success and then relaxed, but not her. She surpasses what she did previously each time,” says Manuela when asked about Lucrecia’s development as an actress.
Lucrecia was appointed Mutumbela Gogo’s Artistic Director in 2005. Manuela says she was waiting for Lucrecia to start directing, a bridge she finally crossed in 2006 with her highly successful adaptation of “Niketche,” an acclaimed novel by Mozambican author, Paulina Chiziane. She followed this in 2007 with “The Last Flight of the Flamingo,” an adaptation of the novel written by celebrated Mozambican author, Mia Couto.
Lucrecia’s recent undertakings have included playing “Blanche,” the lead role in Mutumbela Gogo’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” a classic by American playwright Tennessee Williams, and “Mulher Asfalto,” her own self-produced, one-woman-show that takes up the theme of prostitution. Adapted from “Epilogue d’une Trottoir,” a monologue written in French by Alain Kamal Martiale of Mayotte, “Mulher Asfalto” is an ambitious and courageous project in which Lucrecia seeks to give voice to the oppressive realities and dehumanizing experiences of the prostitute’s underworld. The final result is a provocative mélange of theatre, music and sound, and projected images that explore the commercialization and violation of the prostitute’s flesh through the monologue Lucrecia explosively delivers in nine “chapters.”
When I asked Lucrecia what she’d like to put on stage next, her eyes lit up, and she started talking about “Neighbours,” a novel written by Lilia Momplé, a Mozambican author. Although she confesses that she hasn’t spoken with the author yet, she says she read the book a long time ago and now “it’s a ball churning inside of [her].”
Lucrecia and Mutumbela Gogo grew up together. Founded in 1986, Mutumbela Gogo recently celebrated its 20th anniversary – in many ways a valiant triumph achieved by a small group of dedicated individuals. Manuela bought Teatro Avenida in 1984 and transformed it into a 350 seat theatre (the best in Maputo) which is a home-base for Mutumbela Gogo and is also rented out by other groups for performances and events.
“Mutumbela Gogo was where I realized that dream I had since I was a child,” Lucrecia says. “It was where I trained and where a door to the world was opened for me. It’s where I feel good.”
Lucrecia explains that when Mutumbela Gogo started, there was no repertoire of Mozambican plays waiting to be brought to life on the stage. So, the small company went about building their own, play by play.
Mutumbela Gogo looked to national authors, like Mia Couto, who has collaborated closely with the group throughout its young history. The group also has adapted classic texts and plays, like Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.” But, as with everything they put on stage, Mutumbela Gogo is careful to adapt texts so that they reflect “moçambicanidade” (mozambican-ness).
“We [Mozambicans] are the result of mixtures,” says Lucrecia. “We try to make this richness transparent. We search to bring a message to our public and we try to create characters with whom our public feels they can identify with.”
Mutumbela Gogo also has maintained a close working relationship with best-selling author and part-time Maputo resident, Henning Mankell, who not only has directed and written plays for the group (some based on his own writings), but has also been the group’s financial backbone since 1988. Mankell guarantees the actors’ salaries, but Manuela uses her “magic wand” to meet the theatre’s other numerous expenses, including mounting new productions.
Both Manuela and Lucrecia lament the fact that funding and support for the theatre has dropped over the years, and that the current climate is so challenging. This is most unfortunate when you consider the potential the Arts hold for a developing country.
Despite the obstacles, Lucrecia and the small handful of people that make up Mutumbela Gogo hold the keys to the future as they continue to develop an artistic identity for theatre that is
local, Mozambican, and worthy of international attention.
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