Neil Bennet Grib (left) as Cyril the Safety Rep and Jantji Ngwenyama as Joey	Jantji Ngwenyama (left) as Joey with his Operations Manager, Brian (right) played by Neil Bennet Grib

As the sun warmed the cool breeze on the morning of 6 September 2008, the crowd of 5000 slowly filtered through the gates and covered the stands of the Harry Oppenheimer Stadium. This day was organised to celebrate 1 million fatality free shifts at the Moab Khotsong Mine, one of the Mines in the AngloGold Ashanti stable just outside Orkney in the North West province.

After brief announcements and a few speeches, some of which included Mark Cutifani, the Chief Executive Officer of AngloGold Ashanti who re-emphasized the principle of Safety being their 1st Value, the actors from The Learning Theatre took the stage. They portrayed the story of a mineworker called Joey who, through various encounters with fellow workers, slowly transforms his attitude and beliefs regarding Safety, Health, and the Environment.

As 10 000 eyes watched the performance, they heard their own thoughts being voiced on stage and they saw their own fears being realised. They realised anew the danger that lurks in the desensitising effect of Health and safety procedures. More importantly, they realised their own individual responsibility and their own power to transform the mining industry to an industry that protects and cares.

Theatre is a powerful way of conveying a realisation that is too often lost in the repetitive procedures of every day work life. In addition, live performance is a great way to provide informing entertainment to large audiences.

Neil Bennet Grib (left) as Jack, the old school Employee who doesn’t believe in SHE, and Jantji Ngwenyama (right) as Joey Cyril the Safety rep (left) played by Neil Bennet Grib and Joey (right) played by Jantji Ngwenyamain the last scene of “Superman Goes Nowhere”