Born in the RSA (Eng)
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PLAYWRIGHT:
BARNEY SIMON
DIRECTOR:
KARABELO LEKALAKE
VENUE: SCAENA
THEATRE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
Dates and times:
29 October
2014
19h30
30 October
2014
19h30
31 October
2014
19h30
Prices: R 40.00 for adults / R
30.00 for students or scholars / R 25.00 for pensioners or for groups of 10 or
more
Bookings:
Computicket (0861 915 8000)
Born in the
RSA was improvised from life. The play looks at the atrocities of
the apartheid regime. This docu-drama is based on real-life characters that were
caught up in the 1985 state of emergency. The play focuses on political events
that challenged the perception that, in our society the victims are only those
who are oppressed. The audience gets to encounter and listen to personal
testimonies of people who were caught in the cross fire. The interwoven stories
of the seven characters vividly paint a bleak picture of the apartheid regime
and the South African Police’s tactics: the guilt by association, sudden arrest,
slow interrogation and forced confessions through torture.
Glen
Donahue (Magnus Mc Phail) is a Wits University graduate and betrayal is
the name of his game. Glen is highly paid by the police to spy on “trouble
makers”. He does not mind compromising people close to him as long as he
can be compensated appropriately. This is evident when he has a steamy
affair with Susan Lang (Marle Visagie) simply because he is spying on
her. Susan, an art teacher is totally taken by Glen’s charm. Her remarkable
characteristic of being loyal to the liberation movement is apparent in the
play. However, she seems to be unaffected by the notion of being Glen’s
mistress. Nicky Donahue (Imke Reinecke) married to Glen, is kind to
blacks, but prefers not to listen to stories of how black people suffer because
of apartheid.
Sindiswa Ngube (Keketso Tsiane and Petunia
Kgotlhe), a black schoolteacher, is guilty of no crime except being
the sister of the trade-union leader, Thenjiwe (Dieketseng Dlamini), with
whom Susan is affiliated. Sindiswa's punishment in the play is the arrest of her
10-year-old son on trumped-up charges. An Afrikaner activist lawyer Mia
Steinman’s (Rona Van Blerk) career is influenced by renewed political
activist such as Braam Fischer, Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo. Since childhood
Mia was exposed to various people visiting her parents’ house and all she wants
is equal rights for everyone.
The
sweet musician Zack Melani (Che Keet) is so disturbed by the cruel
treatment of his friend's incarcerated child that, to his horror, he finds
himself inexorably driven into becoming ''the black King Kong'' whites fear him
to be. As he fantasizes about cracking the skulls of white schoolgirls, the
audience sees the begetting of violence by violence.
The
three day performance of Born in the RSA is at Scaena Theatre from 28
till 31 October at 19:30. Tickets are available at
Computicket.