ReTAGS project leaves a rich digital archive on UCT’s Ibali platform

The Reimagining Tragedy from Africa and the Global South project, known as ReTAGS, has concluded a significant six-year period of artistic research in the Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies (CTDPS) at UCT. Supported by the Andrew W Mellon Foundation, artists, scholars and students were brought together to rethink classical tragedy through African and global South perspectives.

Led by principal investigator Professor Mark Fleishman and co-investigator Mandla Mbothwe, ReTAGS explored tragedy using performance methodologies that critically engage with contemporary postcolonial conditions. The team sought to engage the concept of tragedy from its European origins and reimagine it from an African and global South perspective. Their work interrogated the tragic both within and beyond theatrical spaces, looking to everyday life for insight into how the consequences of colonialism shape lived experiences.

The project produced a wide range of artistic and scholarly outputs including nine artistic research productions, multiple workshops and laboratories, fieldwork interviews and student productions.  Collaborations with institutions such as Magnet Theatre, the Baxter Theatre and the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama at Oxford University, involved partners across Africa, Europe, India, Brazil and Cuba. Postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers were supported in their ‘working with practice’ as research methodologies, strengthening a growing network of scholars in African performance.

A major digital archive on Ibali

One of the most lasting contributions of ReTAGS is a substantial digital archive hosted on Ibali*, UCT Libraries’ digital scholarship platform, co-developed and managed by the UCT Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Services (DSS) team. Described as a ground-breaking resource for artists and scholars working on performance, rehearsal practice and the tragic form within African and global South contexts, the archive has received international recognition.

The creative and research processes of the project have been documented over six years and the archive now contains thousands of digital items such as rehearsal recordings, performance videos, interviews, audio materials, photographs, research documentation and scholarly resources. These materials are supported by rich metadata that captures context, contributors, locations, relationships and keywords in multiple South African languages. The structure allows for complex searching and meaningful navigation across materials.

Professor Fleishman said the value of the digital space became increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 lockdown period, when conventional practice and performance spaces were inaccessible. Digital collaboration and documentation enabled the team to continue their research, with the digital environment functioning as a site of research itself. “It was a place where research could actually continue to take place when theatres and rehearsal rooms were no longer accessible,” he said.

The ReTAGS archive showcase includes records of 86 African and global productions that engage with Greek tragedy, organised through an interactive world map, historical timeline and connections to original Greek texts. It also hosts the full rehearsal and performance documentation of five major ReTAGS practice as research productions, making it one of the most comprehensive digital records of contemporary African theatre‑making available.

Collaboration between CTDPS and UCT Libraries

The development of the archive reflects a strong partnership between CTDPS and DSS. The curatorial and technical work was led by Jayne Batzofin as digital archivist, working closely with Digital Scholarship Specialist Dr Sanjin Muftić. Batzofin entered the project as a theatre maker and transitioned into digital archiving, later receiving UCT’s Data Steward of the Year award. 

Their work demonstrates how embedded digital scholarship can enrich artistic research and create sustainable, accessible records of creative practice. As part of the Libraries' services for showcasing collections on Ibali, Muftić provided critical guidance and support in conceptualising and building the archive, as well as assisting with the ongoing deposit of new materials, ensuring that Ibali could support the project’s depth and complexities.

The ReTAGS archive has since become one of the flagship collections on Ibali and an example of what can be achieved through early integration of digital scholarship and humanities research. The approach adopted by the project has influenced how performance archives at UCT are conceptualised, designed and curated.

Developing future scholars and methods

ReTAGS also played a central role in postgraduate and early career development. The project supported nine MA scholars, three PhD candidates and three postdoctoral researchers, many of whom explored tragedy, protest, memory, heritage and performance using practice as research methodologies.

Public engagement formed another crucial dimension. The team delivered conference papers, workshops, public lectures, exhibitions and digital outputs that reached audiences across the African continent and internationally. Teaching materials developed through ReTAGS have been used in classrooms at UCT and several partner institutions.

The project also produced an open access publication, Making Doing Thinking: Methods for Performance Research, which offers insight into how practice as research methods are designed and carried out. Additional publications by members of the team contribute to international conversations about African adaptations of classical works, the politics of performance, digital archiving, spatial justice and artistic methods.

A lasting legacy on Ibali

ReTAGS leaves behind a comprehensive and accessible digital record of African performance processes. The archive provides a platform for future research, teaching and creative work, while preserving a detailed account of a major collaborative project that reimagined tragedy from African and global South perspectives.

By combining artistic research, digital innovation, community engagement and scholarly inquiry, ReTAGS has strengthened UCT’s capacity for digital humanities and expanded the possibilities for research at the intersection of performance and technology.

* The Ibali platform is a web publishing platform (powered by open source software Omeka S) for galleries, libraries, archives and museums to showcase collections. The relational database allows materials to be connected through descriptive fields and keywords, harnessing metadata to generate an evolving web of relationships through linked open data, making the archive dynamic rather than static. Materials can be commented on, re-described and re-curated, reflecting an approach that values community participation, collaboration and future growth. Ibali is run by UCT Libraries, with support from UCT’s ICTS department, and houses over fifty unique showcase collection sites. It features some of the library’s own collections as well as those from the departments of sociology, plant conservation and linguistics.   

Related articles:

Grappling with data in the performing arts | eResearch