The purpose of the festival was to address common preventative lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, along with HIV and AIDS. The idea was to promote HIV as a chronic, lifestyle disease and destigmatising HIV and AIDS to be part of other manageable diseases.

According to Burt Davis of the Africa Institute, the educational theatre intervention served as the HIV awareness training session for the festival. The purpose was not only to educate but more importantly also motivating people to go for testing,” Burt said.

The HIV and AIDS consultancy AfriSIDA was responsible for the voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) process of the Wellness Festival. “We were approached by a former student of the Africa Centre, Elize Bokelman (CEO of AfriSIDA), who contracted us to facilitate the educational theatre intervention Eskom requested as part of the roll out,” explained Burt.

The intervention started with a short talk on wellness and its importance, facilitated by Eskom's biokineticist, Ahmed Parker, as well as Babalwa Solombela, EAP (employee assistance programme) advisor. This was followed by a performance of the mini-musical Lucky the Hero! By the drama group and a talk on how the consequent VCT testing would work, facilitated by AfriSIDA’s Pierre Louw.

The high number of people who went for testing as a result of the campaign proved the success of the project. “We did 26 shows over three months in Upington, Worcester, Bellville, Brackenfell, George and Oudtshoorn and an average of 90% of the people who attended the shows went for testing afterwards,” said Burt.

Because the performances formed part of the Eskom festival, the testing and follow-up sessions were supported by a good infrastructure once the drama group intervention was finished, i.e. the EAP/wellness team from Eskom. According to Burt, this made a big difference in the quality and success of the performances, as it is much more difficult to establish or organise an infrastructure on for example farms, where the drama group usually performs.

“Many companies would like to be able to show participation of 50% of their employees but often do not even achieve 30% turn-out for VCT. Thus we at AfriSIDA see this campaign, where 90% of employees now know their status, as highly successful,” said Pierre. “Not only this, but all 1 848 employees that experienced the educational theatre as pre-test training and education are now empowered with knowledge of HIV and AIDS and can alter their thinking and future behaviour.”

The success of the intervention was not limited by the festival: “At almost every show Eskom employees approached us with questions about how our show could be duplicated in their communities, schools and so forth,” said Burt.

The partnership between the Africa Centre and Eskom is far from over. “We have already organised additional sessions from the ones originally planned. Also, because of the success of this wellness campaign we are in talks to duplicate this model in other provinces and even in neighbouring countries where Eskom has interests.”

Steps to expand the roll out of this programme are not limited to Eskom, but can be applied to other companies. This model, working closely with AfriSIDA, has set a benchmark of how theatre can be incorporated for HIV and AIDS campaigns at private concerns to motivate testing, explained Burt. “We have been approached by quite a few organisations that have visited the Eskom festival and are interested to duplicate this model as part of their wellness campaigns for employees,” Burt said.

The Eskom intervention is indeed proof of the general success of the use of theatre and music in HIV and AIDS education, as a way of transcending language, literacy and cultural barriers. “Many companies are looking for new ways to promote the ‘HIV gospel’, rather than the conventional HIV and AIDS awareness session. This is where theatre fits in perfectly. Many Eskom employees have thanked us for this fresh way of spreading the word.”

Additionally, the ‘freshness’ of the approach is constantly reviewed; to make the sure the message stays relevant and understandable to the audience. “Through each of the Eskom performances, we have constantly kept the actors on their toes by using slightly different acting nuances to get the message across, depending on the audience demographic,” said Burt. The actors were encouraged to develop their skills of ‘reading’ the audience, thinking on their feet, etc. to ensure the message stays innovative and original and that it is properly understood.

The Africa Institute’s drama group have come a long way since they were formed in 2004. And there is no doubt that they are only going from strength to strength. In the course of April a DVD will be launched of the production to communicate with audiences that cannot be reached with the live performances. The DVD was recorded in English and Afrikaans, but will eventually be available in more languages. “We are also having auditions in the coming weeks to expand the current cast – watch the press if you’re interested!” said Burt.

They are also in the process of launching a second play, called Lucky Fish. In this second production, the focus will move from basic HIV/AIDS education to the legal issues regarding HIV/AIDS. This includes for example employee rights in the workplace. In general, the play will educate people on HIV/AIDS issues related to the corporate world.

Projects like the Eskom intervention once again proves the success of using educational theatre in HIV and AIDS education, and further supported by the testing percentages. The Africa Institute indeed has an invaluable role to play in HIV and AIDS education in South Africa and all over the world, being evidence that every step of action, whatever the size, can make a difference. Companies or individuals are welcome to approach the Africa Institute for more information.