A political-ethical approach to disability in a Zimbabwean Theatre for Development context

This article examines the manifestations and practical dynamics and implications of a political-ethical approach in Theatre for Development (TfD) in Zimbabwe. Drawing from a TfD project that I facilitated with students with disabilities, I argue that nondisabled TfD facilitators need to engage in intensive encounters with participants in order to promote inclusive reflexivity and vulnerability. Such an approach may create multiple centres of power that can engender a radical approach to disability politics. The article acknowledges power-related risks and unintended outcomes of a political-ethical approach. I suggest that such negative implications may be minimized if facilitators adopt dynamic and multiple functions that can balance between ‘protecting’ participants and promoting radicalized dissent in disability research and artistic practice.