Dear Mr Government, Please May I have a Meeting With You Even Though I’m Six Years Old? is a tender retelling of what children are saying about their governments. They want to make decisions, they want to talk to Mr Government and they want Mr Government to listen to them.

Produced by the University of Johannesburg Arts and Culture, this work is a cross-border collaboration between performer-researchers Bongile Lecoge-Zulu and Cherae Halley, and director-researcher Jessica Lejowa. Dear Mr Government is built on the words of children in Lesotho and South Africa; the play invites audiences—from eight year olds, to teenagers, to adults—to see with the eyes of children and hope with the hope of children.

While it brims over with play and sound and smell and wonder, it cuts with a heavy and urgent truth: children are suffering for the world. 

Developed with assistance from the Hillbrow Theatre Project and Flying House. 

Dear Mr Government, Please May I have A Meeting With You Even Though I’m Six Years Old? was born out of a desire by the company to address the lived experiences of children in displacement and violent conflict situations. The initial impulse was to create a piece of theatre as a platform for the experiences of children to be centred. Over time however, the impulse grew to include a commitment to research and actual dialogue with children in order to devise a piece that could as truthfully as possible allow the voices of children to come to the forefront of the content. As a result, the creative team undertook workshops with children in two countries, observed media and other representations of children, read international, regional and other statutes detailing the rights of children and discussed various legal and NGO policies for the care of displaced and traumatised children. At all times the team has grappled with the creation of a piece of theatre that could reflect the thoughts and feelings of children in various situations of displacement and/or conflict, regardless of geographical location. In that sense, the research and creation process were always geared toward the work becoming accessible to children and adults in as many spaces as possible, with the hope that intergenerational dialogue might begin, and alongside that dialogue there might arise a greater sense of urgency to protect all children. 

The United National Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security was to be implemented across the world ensuring successful promotion of the rights of women in conflict situations. 54 countries have formulated national action plans and South Africa is not one of those countries yet.  By mid 2015 South Africa began discussions around the development of a multi-sector NAP on women, peace and security. In that way, Dear Mr Government, Please May I have a Meeting With You Even Though I’m Six Years Old? will contribute to South Africa’s response to promoting the rights of women and children in conflict situations.

Audience Responses

Stellar performance! Great show!

Such exquisite story telling and theatre making. Through the eyes of a child. Such respect for the creators. I hope this travels far and wide.