Reflecting on my facilitation of a Langalezo during the devising and staging of Speak Out!

This article reflects on play theory and conviviality as approaches to facilitation with regard to my facilitation experience and that of the participants during the devising, staging and post-performance discussions of a play titled Speak Out! which was devised and staged between 2018 and 2019. The research was done in the context of exploring devised theatre, in the form of Popular Participatory Theatre (PPT) as a way of encouraging the victims and survivors of the Gukurahundi atrocities that took place in Zimbabwe from 1983-1987 and their community members to speak out on this issue to create what I term a langalezo experience. The research notes that play, in the form of games and exercises conducted during the research, together with cultivating a convivial space, enhanced facilitation, though there were limitations.