In April this year, poet Harriet Anena staged a one person show at Peter Kagayi’s Poetry Shrine. Titled ‘I Bow For My Boobs’, after one of the poems in her collection, ‘A Nation in Labour’, the show was received by some journalists in comparison to Dr. Stella Nyanzi’s protest at Makerere.
Such interpretations of Anena’s show were not only unfair to her performance but were also a gross misunderstanding of the Nyanzi protest, which had nothing to do with erotica. Nyanzi’s nudity wasn’t sexual and therefore could not, and should not have been brought into conversation with Anena’s show, which aspired towards the erotic.
On August 23, 2016, Anena brings back ‘I Bow For My Boobs’ to a Ugandan audience. It will show at the Uganda Museum, from 6pm, prompt. It is hoped that the show will be received on its own terms without comparison to non-erotic nude protest. Having launched her book at last year’s Writivism Festival, the performance illustrates the transformation of Anena’s words from the page, to the stage, one year later.
Anena has also been a beneficiary of the Writivism programme, having attended two workshops (in 2014 and 2015), been mentored by Rachel Zadok and published through various digital publishing partners.
Show tickets go for 20,000/= each and will be on sale at the door, and in advance. The festival also has an omnibus ticket offer that grants access to four paid events, including I Bow To My Boobs.
Watch a clip from the previous show here. Find more information about the show, at the Writivism website.
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