Setting the Scenes

Our aims become clearer and clearer through each workshop we hold with the Ekhaya performers. As mentioned before, we have decided to produce a radio drama series based on the issue of young parenthood, the problems that come with it and all the people that are affected by it. What we came to understand through our time with Aiya, Bheza, luvuyo and Vuvu are the stereotypical or generalized ways in which township life plays out. According to Aiya, it is not uncommon to find a young woman or teenager who feels no shame in having a boyfriend for airtime, a boyfriend for clothes, one for transport and so on.


Dumbfounded as I was by the extremity of such a situation I was also attracted to the comedic potential it had. So, in our drama series, we incorporate two of the above boyfriend types as two of the people affected in a young parenthood situation. The first episode gradually introduces the audience to all the characters of the story. I will outline them to a certain degree below. What become apparent to us is the often uncommunicative role parents tend to play in a teenagers life, particularly when it comes to issues such as puberty and sex. Thus, the parents in our series take up an initial role of un-involvement as is stereotypically understood as the general way of life. An important role, we thought, would be the trustworthy, ‘always there for you’ friend, a shoulder to lean on who doesn’t mind helping out where she can. Another role that we created is the judgemental nurse, who after a consultation with our main character can be seen as playing a large role in the ever increasing number of teenage pregnancy. Of course there are the two boyfriends that I mentioned above.


As you can see we have made an effort to pinpoint particular attributes of certain characters that may be found in different parts of Grahamstown’s location. However, as important as it is to remain authentic and true to real life, our production is one that aims to initiate social change. The drama series intends to break down stereotypes instead of support them. By doing this we hope to create an ‘A-Ha’ moment amongst our audience in the hope that they themselves will recognise what we are aiming for in the subtle way we are intending to go about it. The stage at which we begin to break these stereotypes we recreated is in our third and final episode. By this stage we intend for the story line to alter to a certain degree. Typical responses begin to change and so do attitudes surrounding the situation. By the end of episode three the role of the parents, the sugar-daddy, the other boyfriend (and real father of the child), the nurse and the main character herself all undergo certain life-changing experiences that force them to deal with a situation they would preferably not become involved in. By no means do we paint a pretty picture about their new-found attitudes and ‘bright future’ but instead we initiate conversations and situations that would not necessarily happen amongst the characters we created.