Theatre is a powerful tool when people can relate to the characters and story being told. We believe Theatre is a great way to engage with large numbers, entertain and start discussions around many different topics and issues facing Vanuatu today.
Wan Smolbag Theatre
There are 16 full time actors and a full time artistic director and writer at Wan Smolbag, making the group one of the few full time professional companies in the Pacific. The group normally starts the year improvising a piece to take to the islands, choosing any topic that excites them. By April, they are back to start rehearsals on at least one original full length play to be performed in the theatre at Wan Smolbag Haos. Every two or three years this play transfers to Luganville on the island of Santo, where it invariably draws large crowds. In August preproduction for the year’s film starts and filming begins at the start of September and takes up the second half of the year. Many of these film productions will look at topical issues like domestic violence, population growth, the environment and governance. They will often be used in workshops, which the actors also facilitate.
Rainbow Disability Theatre
Rainbow Disability Theatre consists of actors with mostly physical disabilities and their carers who also act in the shows. Rainbow have come a long way since they started in 2009 as a collaboration between Vanuatu Society for disabled people (VSDP) and No Strings Attached, an Australian based theatre company and Wan Smolbag. Their first shows aimed to highlight the rights of people with a disability and special needs but now they do short plays about sanitation, domestic violence and cyclone preparedness. One of the main actors in Rainbow is Francis Ruru, who joined Wan Smolbag in 1994 to act in a play about disability. He then stayed in the group as he was a very talented actor. Francis sadly died in March 2020, but he will always be remembered for the role he had in creating the group and his acting. which made all the plays a joy to watch. In 2018 Rainbow were thrilled to be given a core funding agreement by World Vision Vanuatu which means they now all have salaries for the first time in their acting career. If you would like to use Rainbow to promote your message please get in touch.
Youth Drama
Each year there is a drama project with the Youth Centre. Most of the young people who join are between 13 – 25 and anyone can be part of the show, no matter what their acting ability may be. This can mean we end up doing a show with 30 – 40 youth, GULP! The youth plays are often about issues facing youth like relationships, teenage pregnancy and education. We invite school group down to watch the shows and run workshops afterwards to discuss the issues raised. It is a great chance for our youth to show off their talents and some of the youth have gone on to become WSB full time actors!