DRAMATIC ARTS GRADE 12 SELF STUDY MATERIAL-2020
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Dear Grade 12 learner
This self-study resource pack is compiled to enable you to continue your studies while you are away from classroom contact sessions. If you work through the pack diligently, it will equip you with the relevant knowledge to prepare for the year ahead. There is curriculum content as well as past papers which I hope will be of benefit to your individual need.
Best wishes for the year ahead. Dr P Gramanie
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TERM 2 Topic 5: Prescribed Play Text 2: South African Text (1960 -1994) SOPHIATOWN by JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY
Background/context: social, political, religious, economic, artistic, historical, theatrical, as relevant to chosen play text Background of the playwright / script developers Principles of Drama in chosen play text such as: plot, dialogue, character, theme Style / genre of play text Staging/setting Techniques and conventions Audience reception and critical response (by original audience and today
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SOPHIATOWN by JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY
“The city that was within a city, the Gay Paris of Johannesburg, the notorious Casbah gang den, the shebeeniest of them all.”
Background and context of Sophiatown
Social
Sophiatown was a suburb in Johannesburg and is also known as Kofifi or Softown. Sophiatown was different from other South African townships and was the only freehold township at the time which meant that black residents could purchase and own land.
It was the epicenter of politics, jazz and blues during the 1940s and 1950s. It was vibrant and often dangerous and violent but also a place where people of all races met, drank in shebeens and talked politics, poetry and life. Sophiatown was like a melting pot churning out intellectuals, poets, writers, musicians and gangsters.
It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians and artists. People such as: Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Bishop Desmond tutu, Can Themba, Don Mattera, Ruth First and Father Trevor Huddleston.
Sophiatown had character, unlike most townships it was not owned by the Johannesburg municipality and so it never acquired the ‘matchbox’ look synonymous with town planning during this era. The houses were built according to people's ability to pay, tastes, and cultural background. Some made of brick and others corrugated iron and scrap metal.
As mentioned before, Sophiatown was alive with music, dance, drinking, philosophical and political talk. This all set against a backdrop of lawlessness and murder. Sophiatown embodied the best and worst of South African culture.
Apart from turning out some of south Africa’s most influential writers and intellectuals it also famously boasts the creation of the internationally acclaimed musical “King Kong” which was based on a Sophiatown legendary boxer, the musical starred Miriam Makeba and ran on the west end for two years.
Sophiatown was also steeped in gangsterism which emerged out of the poverty of the area. These gangsters were city bred young men who spoke Tsotsitaal – a mixture of
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Afrikaans and English and were hardened criminals and very dangerous. Russians, Berliners, Gestapo, Americans and the Vultures- were all names of Sophiatown gangs. Interestingly the Gestapo and Berliner gang named themselves as such as a reflection of their admiration for Hitler as he took on white Europe.
Political
Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in South Africa and was at its peak in the 1940’s and 1950’s and its political background falls into pre-apartheid and apartheid South Africa. The term Apartheid was introduced in 1948 as part of the election campaign by DF Malan's Herenigde Nasionale Party (HNP – 'Reunited National Party'), however racial segregation had been in force for many decades in South Africa. From the Afrikaans word meaning 'separation' apartheid was a social philosophy which enforced racial, social, and economic segregation on the people of South Africa. Sophiatown was unfortunately doomed for destruction. The Apartheid government saw the Township as a threat, as it was a place in South Africa where the walls of division that the government were so carefully creating, did not apply. Races mixed freely and ideas and opinions abounded. And so, to quell this so-called threat the government passed the Group areas act which basically made the destruction of Sophiatown and the segregated relocation of its inhabitants into a matter of central government vision and strategy.
Sophiatown residents united in protest against the forced removals; creating the slogan:
Ons dak nie, ons phola hier (We won't move).
Father Trevor Huddleston, Nelson Mandela, Helen Joseph and Ruth First played an important role by becoming involved in the resistance. However, it has been argued that the resistance was not completely united as some tenants who lived in extremely cramped conditions and were charges extortionate prices thought they may be better off once relocated. However, many people of the township relied on Sophiatown for their daily living- house owners and gangsters among them.
Whatever resistance there was fell short. Two days before the removals were scheduled to take place, 2000 police, armed with automatic rifles, invaded Sophiatown and started moving out the first families. The armed resistance was nowhere to be seen. That first night, in the pouring rain, 110 families were moved out of Sophiatown to the new township of Meadowlands- in Soweto and the area formally known as Sophiatown, that vital city that had in many ways broken the shackles of subjugation and the walls off separateness was re-named: TRIOMF.The name Triomf creates a sense of anger in me and I’m sure in the uprooted residents of Sophiatown themselves. The National government it seems found it a triumph over an assumed threat based on prejudice and hate whereas what it really was; was the destruction of something beautiful and unique.
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Historical
The land where Sophiatown grew from was originally bought by a man called Hermann Tobiansky. Sophiatown was named after his wife Sophia and some of the streets were named after his three children. However, the distance from the city center was seen as disadvantageous and after the City of Johannesburg built a sewage plant nearby, the area was even less attractive to prospective white buyers. By the late 1940s Sophiatown had a population of nearly 54 000 Black Africans, 3 000 Coloureds, 1 500 Indians and 686 Chinese.
People
Miriam Makeba
A Grammy award winning singer and civil rights activist. In the 60’s she was the first African artist to popularize African music in the U.S. She was an activist against the Apartheid regime and as a result the Nationalist government revoked her citizenship and right of return to South Africa.
Can Themba.
Dubbed ‘the Shebeen intellectual’, whilst living in Sophiatown he wrote the Suit. He also won short story competition for Drum magazine, and after the destruction of Sophiatown he fled to Swaziland. His Works out-lawed by the Apartheid government. Can Themba was an alcoholic who ended up drinking himself to death. Something his friends likened to a slow suicide.
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Hugh Masekela
A famous trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer and singer. After the Sharpville massacre he left South Africa. He is highly successful and among other things has collaborated on Sarafina, featured on Paul Simons Graceland tour and played in King Kong the South African musical. He Returned to S.A in the early 90’s.
Don Mattera
Don Mattera has written poetry and an autobiography, called Memory is the Weapon. He has written plays and children stories. He was awarded the Steve Biko Prize for his autobiography. Mattera has worked as a journalist on The Sunday Times, The Weekly Mail, the now Mail & Guardian and The Sowetan. He is a popular motivational speaker and is often invited to be a Master of Ceremony in different functions. He holds an honorary Doctorate (Dlit) degree in Literature from the University of Natal. He has received fellowships from Sweden and America. Masekela continues to work with street children in the Eldorado community. He is also Muslim.
Ruth First
Born to Latvian Jewish immigrants. She was a vigorous Political activist against the Apartheid regime and after the Sharpville massacre, when South Africa was in a state of emergency, First was banned, unable to attend meetings, publish or be quoted. She was then imprisoned and put into isolation for 117 days without charge. She was the first white woman to be detained under the ninety-day detention law. In 1949 she married Joe Slovo, a Jewish South African anti- apartheid activist and communist. First went into Exile in London in March 1964. And was later assassinated by order of Craig Williamson, a major in the South African Police, on 17 August 1982, when she opened a letter bomb that had been sent to her university.
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Father Trevor Huddleston
English born and raised, Huddleston was sent to the CR mission station in Rosettenville in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1943. As the Priest-in-Charge of the CR’s Anglican Mission in Sophiatown and Orlando, Huddleston ministered in the townships between 1943 and 1956. With the passing into legislation of the Group Areas Act in 1950, Huddleston, along with Nelson Mandela, Helen Joseph and Ruth First became involved in protests against the forced removals in Sophiatown. This, along with his decision to close down St Peter’s rather than handing it over for government control under the Bantu Education Act, brought him in regular conflict with the authorities. As a result, in the 13-year period of working in South Africa, Huddleston gained a reputation as a respected priest and an anti-apartheid activist. This earned him the nickname ‘Makhalipile’ or dauntless one. During this time he developed close friendships with Mandela and Oliver Tambo.
Landmarks
Dr Xuma's house
President of ANC, this house represented a lot to many of the townships inhabitants and was seen as model of a “good life”. Good Street
This is where the shebeen that Can Themba frequented and was known as the “House of Truth” there was also Fatty Phyllis Peterson's 39 Steps on the same street where Fatty sold all the drinks you could ask for. The street was also renowned for its Indian, Chinese and Jewish shops, and for being a street of criminals and gangsters.
Fatty Phyllis
Freedom square This is not to be confused with the Freedom Square in Kliptown, Soweto. Freedom Square in Sophiatown Famous in the 50’s for political meetings. Here parties gathered and worked against the Apartheid regime. It was here that Nelson Mandela first made public allusion to violence and armed resistance as a legitimate tool for change and was later reprimanded by Albert Luthuli.
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Armed with bulldozers they came Sophiatown to do a job nothing more
just hired killers. the play We gave way there was nothing we could do Background although the bitterness stung in us and in the earth around. ophiatown is a workshopped play, in two DON MATTERA acts, divided into a number of scenes. S
It was developed in workshops by: Angus Gibson, Ruth Jacobson, Liz Johannson, William Kentridge, Siphiwe Khumalo, Doreen Mazibuko, Arthur Molepo, Gladys Mothlale, Ramolao Makhene, Malcolm Purkey, Sarah Roberts, Minky Schlesinger, Tessa Spargo and Pippa Stein.
The people involved in the creation of the play researched the subject through extensive interviews with people such as: Don Mattera, Nadine Gordimer, Kort Boy, Es’ kia Mphahlele, Father Trevor Huddleston and more.
Sophiatown was first performed at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg on the 19 February 1986. It was directed by Malcolm Purkey and produced in association with the Market Theatre Company.
The Market Theatre, founded in Johannesburg in 1976 by Mannie Manim and the late Barney Simon, was constructed out of Johannesburg’s Indian Fruit Market - built in 1913. The theatre went on to become internationally renowned as South Africa’s “Theatre of the Struggle.
http://markettheatre.co.za/view/about-us/history
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Plot
The spark for the play comes from a real life account of two Drum magazine journalist of the time who advertised for a Jewish girl to come and live with them. Despite the legislation in South Africa at the time a Jewish girl arrived .This forms the basis for the plot of the play. Ruth is the Jewish girl and the play explores her experiences in this multicultural township.
Setting
The entire action of the play takes place within Mamariti’s freehold house on 65 Gerty Street, with characters entering and exiting throughout the action.
Set
The set of the play shows the interior of the living area. In the text it is described as looking “cramped but comfortable”. Each character has a corner defined by his or her things for example Jakes’s area is defined by his typewriter. The backdrop consists of painted images taken from photographs, newspaper clippings and magazines. Three telephone poles are placed at intervals on the set. The set reflects aspects of Epic theatre and Adapted Realism.
Genre
The play does not fall into any one genre. It is a protest play with elements of a Township musical. In many aspects it has Realist elements yet a strong influence of Epic Theatre as well. Sophiatown highlights the injustices of Apartheid. We understand as the audience how unfair the impending forced removal is and how many lives it will negatively affect, such as Mamariti whose means of survival depends on her Shebeen and Kofifi. Also Mingus an uneducated man who is like royalty in Sophiatown but will have very little opportunity outside of the township- his lifestyle and in turn that of Charlie and Princess’s depends on Sophiatown.We also notice how Bantu education was subjected on willing and curious minds such as Lulu and how the living conditions of the majority of non-whites of the time was poor to say the least. In Mamariti’s Diamond Shebeen live six people with no running water, all with a little section of the house ‘marked out’ for their use. The Audience sympathises with many of the characters, such as Charlie who once Sophiatown has been destroyed is found stabbed to death having crawled five blocks to get back to the house to Gerty Street where the action of the play takes place.
Sophiatown also has the melodramatic elements of a township musical which aids in capturing the atmosphere of the time.
However, the play also has very realistic characters, characters that are believable and have depth. The costumes are appropriate to the characters and the time in which the play is set, the 1950s. For example, Mingus would be dressed as typical American gangster of the time as that was what the style was based on at the time. The language
10 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 used in the play clearly reflects all the “types” of characters or people one would have found in Sophiatown. Jakes the intellectual speaks what would be considered good English whereas Mingus the gangster uses predominantly Tsotsitaal a mixture of English and Afrikaans and a lot of typical Sophiatown slang. The play mentions influential people of the time and real places within Sophiatown such as Freedom Square and the Odin Cinema.
Sophiatown cleverly incorporates elements of Epic theatre and Brecht’s alienation devices as well. Intense moments in the play where the drama rises are often interrupted with a song or dance. The play also uses a narrator, Jakes, who breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly. At times props are symbolic, such as the bath that Mingus insists Charlie bring in for Ruth to use. This bath is could be symbolic of the decadent lifestyle of white people contrasted by the basic lack of needs within the township such as no running water and poor sanitation and what Ruth takes for granted as everyday living habits is sheer luxury in Sophiatown. The bath is almost just as out of place in Sophiatown as Ruth is.
The Backdrop of the Sophiatown is comprised of painted images deriving from newspapers, magazines and photos taken from Sophiatown and the period, this is very reminiscent of a Brechtian backdrop of slogans and banners.
Sophiatown is also episodic in structure; this as we all know is typical of Epic theatre. The characters in the play, although realistic are also strongly representative. Each character represents a stereotype that would be found in Sophiatown. The intellectual, the gangster, the Shebeen Queen, the Fahfee runner, the ‘good time girl’ and so forth.
Characters
Jakes
Jakes has the function of a narrator and a character within the house. Jakes is the intellectual, “the situation” as Mingus would call him, and a man of words. He writes for Drum magazine reporting on boxing but is ambitious and yearns to write about the Township in which he resides. He is kind and helpful and treats women with respect; we see this in the way he relates to Ruth. As an audience we feel he develops feelings for Ruth and Lulu tells Ruth that he does, however he never actually admits them outright
11 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 and when Ruth says to him near the end of the play that if he had given one sign of interest maybe things between them could have been different, Jakes says it would be impossible. It is ironic that Jakes above all characters in the play accepts Ruth without question he gives the impression of not being bound by race and yet it is his race that stops him from acting on any feelings he has for her. Jakes will not succumb to any feelings he has for this white girl, he will not let her bulldoze over his heart as the Boere will bulldozer over the houses and life of Sophiatown. In Jakes opinion any chance of love they may have had dies with Sophiatown. In fact Jakes although seemingly sensitive does not show much faith in love throughout the play and talks about it being quarrels all the way. Jakes’s character highlights the theme of identity and race classification as does Ruth’s. He asks the question ‘what the hell am I? The Boere want us in separate locations, but what am I? I speak Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, English and Afrikaans and in moments of weakness I even speak Tsotsitaal.”
Mingus
This character may possibly be named after Charles Mingus- a very famous musician also known as ‘the angry man of jazz’ since in the play Charlie is almost an extension of Mingus himself his right-hand man, the tribute is quite apt. Mingus is a member of the American gangs. He is an unpredictable and complex character who has many conflicting character traits. In the opening scene of the play Mingus convinces Jake to write a love letter for the girl he is interested in. Within this first scene we discover that Mingus is confident and outspoken, and seems to enjoy a bit of romance, however we also soon discover that Mingus is a violent man who treats women as objects to be claimed, his motto regarding woman is to hit them until they listen. In Act two Princess his girlfriend is brought to him and he violently hits her because she talks back to him. Mingus likes control and aims to control all women and situations. He is extremely image conscious tries to impress Ruth by buying her gifts and even makes sexual advances on her, however when he is turned down, he grows extremely aggressive and Ruth often finds safety behind Jakes. In fact, he is aggressive to her throughout the play and often blames her for what is being done to them by the nationalist government. He is mistrustful Ruth and white people in general and makes this perfectly clear to Ruth. In my opinion some of Mingus’ aggression comes from his deeper feelings of insecurity, since he lives in a time where his freedom is severely curtailed and his life is controlled by an unjust government. When Jakes talks about how powerless they are against the white man, Mingus grows suddenly aggressive. And it is precisely because Mingus cannot control Ruth that she infuriates him even more. Mingus may be uneducated and illiterate however he is extremely street wise and a competent thief and for all his bravado he shows moments of uncharacteristic compassion as shown by his speech to Charlie near the end of the play, where he tries to explain to Charlie that he is black and Charlie is Coloured and so there is no way Charlie could follow him to Meadowlands.
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Charlie
Charlie’s character is representative of the uneducated young men in Sophiatown whose only way of survival is total submission to a man such as Mingus, a gang member, who he will work for and live off the scraps from their thieving. He is Mingus’ sidekick, and is totally dependent on Mingus, virtually grovels at his feet. In the opening scene Charlie is found shining Mingus’ shoes while they are still on with Mingus aggressively telling him to leave off. Charlie barely speaks throughout the play and expresses no opinions. His whole existence relies on Mingus and life in Sophtown. Near the end of the play Charlie begs Mingus to take him with to Meadowlands; he has nowhere to go and no way of living without Mingus and the township. Later we discover that Charlie becomes a casualty in the destruction of Sophiatown and is found stabbed to death in the rubble of Gerty street.
Ruth
Ruth is a central character in the play, the white Jewish girl who comes to live in Sophiatown. Her character is possibly representative of all non- racist whites of the time in Sophiatown. The character’s name is possibly a tribute to Ruth First. Ruth, like Jakes is confused as to her place in the world, she’s a white Jewish South African who speaks barely any Hebrew and has left the comfort of Yeoville for the streets of a township. Ruth enters the house unaware fully of the living conditions of people within Sophiatown, as many whites would have been at the time. Although Ruth comes from what we assume to be a sheltered lifestyle, she is keen to extend herself by living at 13 Gerty Street. Members of the household, mainly Fahfee try to teach her Sophtown slang and how to survive in the township and although she is often treated with mistrust, jealousy and open aggression by other characters, her determination to “find’ herself pushes her through. Ruth struggles in the play to find out exactly who she is, she is confused. Is she Jewish, White, South African...? By the end of the play Ruth has decided that she no longer belongs in Yeoville, it’s almost as if Ruth has decided she can no longer accept life in white suburbia, sheltered from the reality of life in South Africa under an oppressive and racist government. Ruth is described by Jakes as the girl with the Golden Heart; she comes across at first as reserved, softly spoken and willing to fit in. However we must also attribute great courage to the character of Ruth and not only for her decision to leave home and live in Sophiatown but also because she has the courage to confront Jakes about the possibility of them having a life together, she even suggests that there are other places other than South Africa where they could be together. Ultimately it seems she is willing to take a risk for what she believes in whereas Jakes is too afraid to do the same. Ruth also stands her ground with other members of the house who treat her with jealousy such as Princess and anger and suspicion such as Mingus. She sticks by her decision to experience life in Sophiatown and comes out the other end a changed woman. Wiser, stronger and more aware.
Mamariti, Lulu, Fahfee and Princess
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The smaller roles of Mamariti, Lulu, Fahfee and Princess are all also representative of the ‘types’ of characters that would be found in Kofifi.
Lulu
Lulu represents the school children of the time. Curious, clever, willing to learn however having to deal with the prospect and ultimately the reality of a second class education- Bantu education. Lulu is the type of child like many of the time who were angry at the government for the way in which they were treated, she doesn’t want to go to school to receive Bantu education and exactly the type of child that would have stood up for what she believes, she tells her mother she doesn’t want ‘this Bantu education, it’s for the gutter’ Lulu possibly represents the children who would have died in the Sharpeville massacre.
Mamariti
Mamariti the Shebeen Queen and landlady of the house. She, like most landlords in Sophiatown charged absorbent prices for very little space to her tenants within the house. Jakes complains in his opening narration how he is charged 1 pound for his tiny space, but like most tenants, he is willing to pay, because it’s Sophiatown. Mamariti is sharp and immediately accepts Ruth into the house when she realises she can squeeze double the price for rent out of the white girl. Mamariti is very concerned with Lulu’s education and tries to insist she attends school, regardless of what is being taught, any education is better than no education in her opinion. Ultimately Mamariti is dependent on Sophtown lifestyle, she acquires money through rent and her Shebeen business and when Sophiatown is destroyed her means of making a living are stolen from her. She tells us near the end of the play how afraid she is of moving to Meadowlands, she refuses to get off the removal truck and exclaims that she would rather die. Jakes says that Mamariti dies of a broken heart. She too is one more casualty in the destruction of this town.
Fahfee
Fahfee is an energetic and quick character. He comes in and out of the house bringing the latest news on the street with him. Fahfee is a Fahfee runner. Fahfee was a popular gambling game played in townships based on numbers representing certain things such as bee’s, Diamond lady etc. the game also made use of dreams using images in dreams as a bases for choosing numbers. Fahfee not only brings the news with him but also comic relief to the play. He as others within the play is very reliant on the lifestyle of Sophiatown to survive. When the threat of removals comes, Fahfee is actively involved, becoming a member of the resistance, he tries to rally the house for the resistance, tries to convince Mingus that the gangs need to work together, unite against the G-men, however he fails in his attempts.
Princess
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Princess is the good time girl; she lives off her partner of the time. Mingus is violent with her, aggressive. He provides her with gifts of stolen goods and in return she submits to his authority. She has nothing of her own, nothing she can do to be independent. Ruth cannot understand why she would endure Mingus’s abuse, not understanding that Princess is totally lacking in any opportunity for self-improvement. Jakes says of Princess that she is the ‘Princess of the slums-no name-no home-no family. She’ll sleep wherever she can find a place. Princess is a survivor. With the impending removals she finds herself a new man in Hillbrow to spoil her and provide her with the material things she craves. In fact, she is one of the few characters who will not end up a casualty in the fall of Sophiatown.
S ophiatown the play not only relays the experience of Ruth within the house but also gives the audience great insight into this incredibly vibrant and exciting township. The music, dancing and set allow the audience to get a taste of not only what life was like in Sophiatown but at the climax of its being, just before its destruction.
"My mind recoiled with anger and a little with fear, I had not realised the scope of the destruction; it was a wasteland, like a canvas by Salvador Dali...." --Bloke Modisane, Blame Me on History The swarming, cacophonous, strutting, brawling, vibrating... Sophiatown that was."
"Sometimes, looking up at Sophiatown... I have felt I was looking at an Italian village somewhere in Umbria. For you do ‘look up’ at Sophiatown, and in the evening light, across the blue-grey haze of smoke from braziers and chimneys, against a saffron sky, you see close-packed, red- roofed little houses. ...And above it all you see the Church of Christ the King, its tower visible north, south, east, and west...." --Trevor Huddleston
Naught for Your Comfort the name of slum clearance they had brought the bulldozers and gored into her body, and, for a brief moment, looking down Good Street, Sophiatown was like one of its own many victims; a man gored by the knives of Sophiatown, lying in the open gutters... dying of multiple stab wounds... the look of shock and bewilderment, of horror and incredulity, on the face of the dying man." --Modisane
Father Huddleston that "...the Government’s scheme was not slum- clearance but robbery: robbery carried out in the interests of and under pressure from the neighbouring white suburbs: a political manoeuvre."
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Father Huddleston "the very antithesis of a sound ‘native policy’." But Sophiatown had done much more than this to earn the government's wrath. It was a centre of political resistance to apartheid and overwhelmingly the home of a new, cosmopolitan African urban culture that emerged in defiance of and in opposition to the culture of white supremacy.
"A new synthesis of urban African culture sprang up here, shouting for recognition. Materially poor but intensely social; crime-ridden and violent but neighbourly and self-protective; proud, bursting with music and literature, swaggering with personality, simmering with intellectual and political militancy, Sophiatown was a slum of dreams, a battleground of the heart in the war for the city’s and even the country’s suppressed black soul.
"Sophiatown produced leaders in many fields, enough to create a ‘Sophiatown Renaissance’ comparable to New York’s Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Africans in other cities looked to Sophiatown for inspiration and the location became a symbol as well as a partial realisation of their aspirations.
"Even as government bulldozers were levelling its houses, Sophiatown generated a cultural flowering unequalled in the urban history of South Africa."
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Additional notes on Sophiatown which can be used as worksheets
SOPHIATOWN INTRODUCTION The plays story is inspired by a real incident concerning one particular home in the 1950’s in Sophiatown. Sophiatown in the 1950’s was a rough, sprawling free-hold area outside Johannesburg. This was the only place in South Africa were Black people were ‘allowed’ to buy property. Jakes, a Black journalist, narrates the story that starts with him placing an advertisement for a Jewish girl to come and live in Sophiatown. Her arrival sparks a fiery mix of cultures within the house, sparking debate amongst the many individuals living in the house and the friends that visit. The play suggests the possibility of a love affair between Jakes and Ruth and many friendships eventually develop. However both the personal and cultural exchanges are doomed when the government decides to re-zone Sophiatown and forcibly remove people to their correct racially segregated areas. This forces the houses inhabitants to scatter to different and unhappy fates with their possessions heaped in a pile at the centre of the stage. Sophiatown – the play – is punctuated by narration and song throughout the performance from a quartet featuring the men in the cast to the final mournful farewell song featuring all 8 cast members. The other ‘music’ at work in the play is the forceful rhythm of the speech of the characters in English and tsotsitaal. One of the major contributors to Sophiatown culture was the cinema. The behaviour, language and dress patterns were all based on the movies of the time. This is evident through Mingus’ character who emulated the gangsters from the movies and even goes as far as calling himself Clark Mingus Gable after the famous movie idol Clark Gable.
The play was conceived in a rehearsal room of the Junction Avenue Theatre Company. It is a workshopped play which took about 6 months to research the era before a concrete story was conceived. Once all the steps were concluded Malcolm Purkey put the story together in the scripted form we know today. SETTING AND STAGING The play is set in a Mamariti’s freehold Sophiatown house that also doubles as a shebeen. It is in this melting pot of cultural differences that we are introduced to the various characters. The stage directions suggest that this is a cramped but comfortable area where each character’s space is defined by their belongings – e.g. typewriter for Jakes, broken steering for Charlie and school books for Lulu. In spite of this being a workshopped play the set is fairly realistic. The set is simple and easy to assemble and disassemble as shown at the end of the play when the characters gather all their
17 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 belongings and take down the set piece by piece, symbolizing the breaking down of their homes and their hope. This concept of realism is challenged however by the three telegraph poles that are placed at intervals running from the auditorium through the ‘house’. The action is also played against a background of images from newspapers, magazines and photos of Sophiatown. The play uses narration in the form of monologues spoken by Jakes and music in a somewhat Brechtian fashion. Purkey says that the purpose of the music in Sophiatown is to educate and entertain and is used to drive the plot forward. He pays tribute to the great musicians who were forcefully removed from Sophiatown like Dolly Rathebe, Mariam Makeba, Dollar Brand and Hugh Masikela. The play is presented in a simple musical manner and the characters move from dialogue into song arousing the emotions of grief and joy. The music in Sophiatown also reflected the American style of jazz and the blues. CHARACTERS RUTH GOLDEN This is the Jewish girl who answers the advertisement placed by Jakes and turns up at mamariti’s house in Sophiatown and by doing so agrees to be part of Jakes experiment in racial tolerance and reconciliation. Ruth is the catalyst and the voice of reason in the play even though she is mercilessly objectified. She is one of the more well-rounded characters and is portrayed a symbol of how racial reconciliation can be achieved within the scope of this play. Ruth is ever patient but eventually protests against Jake’s attitude towards her, “…you write about me, but you never look at me properly. Try to see beyond your own fiction. It’s me, Ruth Golden, the girl with the golden heart. Why don’t you look at me properly Jakes? Just once.” Ruth challenges both Jakes description of her as well as the laws of the day that prohibited relations between races. However it seems that Ruth is lost in her own fictional world as there are many probabilities as to why Jakes is reluctant to involve himself in this relationship…from it being illegal to the strong possibility of being accused and charged for rape. As the play progresses it is evident that Ruth is accommodating and quick to adapt as she becomes ‘part of the family’. It also becomes apparent that Ruth is also here in order to ‘find herself’. When asked about the differences between white and Jewish, she says – “…I don’t know what the hell I am…I’m confused.” When asked by Lulu what she was doing here, Ruth replies “I’ve got my own story to write”. Ruth’s pivotal role comes to end rather abruptly as she exits unceremoniously after her rejection by Jakes.
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MAMARITI The owner of the house and the shebeen queen who brews and sells alcohol. She is also the mother of Mingus and Lulu. Her trade and taking on boarders provides the money needed to run the household and send her daughter to school. She is the quiet but strong individual in the play that even Mingus respects and listens to. Mamariti, against the odds manages to provide a warm and caring home environment that is comfortable but cramped. Mamariti adds colour and humour to the play while at the same time reflecting the difficulties faced by women during this period who were forced into any business, sometimes illegal, in order to support their families. Her character represents the pain and suffering experienced by people who were forced to abandon the familiarity of a neighbourhood and community for a completely new and sterile environment. She sets an exorbitant rent for Ruth and asks Ruth to buy alcohol to supply the shebeen. This makes the acquisition of alcohol much easier for mama’s business. Mamariti is very resistant to moving to meadowlands. On the morning of the forced removals she is quite assertive against the “…tall Dutchmen who invade her house in the early hours of that fateful day.” MINGUS He is a notorious gang leader in his late 20’s who dresses, talks and behaves like the many gangsters found on the streets of Sophiatown. This gives him a sense of belonging even though much of his character is built on fictional characters from American movies. He justifies his life of crime by pointing out that his robberies are directed against the white oppressors and are therefore conducted outside his territory and community. Mingus is a bully who loves to dominate and his very aggressive in all his interactions, especially in his relationships with Ruth and his girlfriend, Princess. This is evident in his constant violent threats towards Princess and his reaction when his sexual advance to Ruth is rejected. In this instance he calls Ruth “…a bitch, a piece of rubbish.” Mingus is a complex individual and even though he is illiterate he insists that Lulu will continue with school and not involve herself in any school boycotts. He also takes time, together with Jakes and Fahfee to educate Ruth on how to survive in the streets of Sophiatown by teachin her tostitaal. Mingus also plays the gracious host by attempting to make Ruth comfortable in ‘his’ home and in order to make life easy for her he goes to great lengths to provide her with a bath. However, Mingus is always on the edge and in one of his violent swings he reminds Ruth that in the war for liberation it will be her blood spilt. These outbursts and lack of acceptance are expected at a time in South African history when Blacks and Whites were at loggerheads. These swings in mood made Mingus unpredictable and difficult to live with.
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JAKES One of the few privileged Black intellectuals that had a very good education through the missionary schools that operated in South Africa at this time. His character deviates from the stereotypical characters of shebeen-queens, criminals and good time girls. From his opening monologue to the audience, Jakes reveals the central role stories played in his life. As the play unfolds, we hear that he is searching for “something new, something different” and this is search is continued with the arrival of Ruth at their doorstep. He is unhappy in his job as a sports writer and being forced to write a love letter for Mingus and the arrival of Ruth gives him fresh impetus for an article about the dynamics of living with a white woman in Sophiatown. This article about Ruth Golden – A Sophiatown phenomenon, is a big break for Jakes at his job at Drum magazine. Jakes even questions his role a journalist and debates the impact he has on life around him. He refers to himself as a “…would be intellectual, living in a wasteland, with no power, to change anything except words – a fat lot of good they do.” This reveals Jakes as a sterile character struggling to make his words count in a heavily censored press. This is further enhanced in his private life that is barren with little commitment. His relationship with Ruth only grows at a superficial level and even though Lulu tells Ruth that Jakes is in love with her, we see no evidence of this in the play. This could be indicative of the sign of the times that love across the colour line had to be underground. Jakes is very much an observer of life who seems afraid to fully participate because he is fearful of getting hurt. This is evident when he says to Ruth “I’m not letting some white girl put her hand around my heart…” FAHFEE A political activist in his 40’s whose cover is a runner for a local gambling kingpin. This cover allows Fahfee the freedom to carry information and news to the people of Sophiatown without getting arrested. He is named after a local gambling ‘game’ that gets people to bet on numbers. The winner is the individual who guesses the correct number held by the ‘boss’ or chinaman. Fahfee is the first to bring news of the impending forced removals and the subsequent plan to fight these removals. A plan he cannot fully reveal because of a legitimate fear that this information will be conveyed to the police. Due to his constant awareness and knowledge of news he often enters with the words “News of the day! Dikgang tsa gompieno”. Although fairly easy going he also get suspicious of Ruth due to her questions and the fact that she is white. Fahfee also strongly believes that they can make a “new South Africa” which reveals a strong belief in his political leaders as well as the people of South Africa. LULU She is 16 years old and the sister of Mingus and Mamariti’s daughter. Lulu still goes to school and bemoans the horrors of Bantu education that seem to have no link to the realities of her life. This is revealed in her rote learning of William Wordsworth’s poem,
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The Daffodils. This poem is completely divorced from her reality. Unlike Jakes and her mother, Lulu rejects this colonial education and is prepared to give up on education to pursue the ideal of a free society. PRINCESS Princess is Mingus’ girlfriend and she represents the many women in the townships who have nothing else but their looks and ambitions to get ahead. She puts up with Mingus’ abuse in order to live a more comfortable life. She is the only character who escapes this miserable life by leaving with her Dutch lover – a photographer. EXTRA READING Early life in Sophiatown Sophiatown, unlike other townships in South Africa, was a freehold township, which meant that it was one of the rare places in South African urban areas where blacks were allowed to own land. This was land that never belonged to the Johannesburg municipality, and so it never developed the form of municipal "matchbox" houses, built row upon row, with the same uniformity and lack of character. The houses were built according to people's ability to pay, tastes, and cultural background. Some houses were built of brick and had four or more rooms; some were much smaller. Others were built like homes in the rural areas; others still were single room shacks put together with corrugated iron and scrap sheet metal. The majority of the families living in Sophiatown were tenants and sub-tenants. Eight or nine people lived in a single room and the houses hid backyards full of shanties built of cardboard and flattened kerosene cans, since many Black property owners in Sophiatown were poor. In order to pay back the mortgages on their properties, they had to take in paying tenants. Sophiatown residents had a determination to construct a respectable lifestyle in the shadow of a state that was actively hostile to such ambitions. A respectable lifestyle rested on the three pillars of religious devotion, reverence for formal education and a desire for law and order. People struggled to survive together, and a rich culture based on shebeens (informal and mostly illegal pubs), mbaqanga music and beer-brewing developed. The shebeens were one of the main forms of entertainment. People came to the shebeens not only for skokiaan or baberton (illegally self-made alcoholic beverages), but to talk about their daily worries, their political ideas and their fears and hopes. In these shebeens the politicians tried to influence others and get them to conform to their form of thinking. If one disagreed, he immediately became suspect and was classified as a police informer. These two conflicting images of Sophiatown stand side by side - the romantic vision of a unique community juxtaposed with a seedy and violent township with dangers lurking at every corner.
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Arts and literature Images of Sophiatown were initially built up in literature by a generation of South African writers: Can Themba, Bloke Modisane, Es'kia Mphahlele, Arthur Maimane, Todd Matshikiza, Nat Nakasa, Casey Motsisi and Lewis Nkosi who all lived in Sophiatown at various stages during the 1950s. They all shared certain elements of a common experience: education at St Peter's School and Fort Hare University, living in Sophiatown, working for Drum magazine, exile, banning under the Suppression of Communism Act and for many the writing of an autobiography. Later, images of Sophiatown could be found in Nadine Gordimer's novels, Miriam Makeba's ghostwritten autobiography and Trevor Huddleston's Naught for your comfort. Marlene van Niekerk's novel Triomf focuses on the suburb Triomf and recounts the monotonous daily lives of a family of poor white Afrikaners.[8] The book has been turned into a movie also called "Triomf", which won the Best South African Movie award in 2008.
Crime and gangsterism Crime and violence were a reality of urban life and culture in Sophiatown. The poverty, misery, violence and lawlessness of the city led to the growth of many gangs. Sections of society frowned on gangsterism as anti-social behaviour and gangsters like Kortboy and Don Mattera were despised by many as "anti social". After the Second World War, there was a large increase in the number of gangs in Sophiatown. Part of the reason for this was that there were about 20 000 African teenagers in the city who were not at school and did not have jobs. Township youths were unable to find jobs easily. Employers were reluctant to employ teenagers as they did not have any work experience, and many of them were not able to read or write. They also considered them to be undisciplined and weak. In Johannesburg in the 1950s, crime was a day-to-day reality, and Sophiatown was the nucleus of all reef crimes. Gangsters were city-bred and spoke a mixture of Afrikaans and English, known as tsotsitaal. Some of the more well-known gangs in Sophiatown were the Russians, the Americans, the Gestapo, the Berliners and the Vultures. The names the Gestapo and the Berliners reflect their admiration for Hitler, whom they saw as some kind of hero, for taking on the whites of Europe. The best known gang from this period, and also best studied, was the Russians. They were a group of Basotho migrant workers who banded together in the absence of any effective law enforcement by either mine owners or the state. The primary goal of this gang was to protect members from the tsotsis and from other gangs of migrant workers, and to acquire and defend resources they found desirable - most notably women, jobs and the urban space necessary for the parties and staged fights that formed the bulk of their weekend entertainment.
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Dr A.B. Xuma's house Dr A.B. Xuma was a medical doctor who had trained in the United States and the United Kingdom. He was a local celebrity, President of the African National Congress and Chairperson of the Western Areas Anti-Expropriation and Proper Housing Committee. His house was a landmark in Sophiatown (73 Tobie Street) and was declared a National Heritage Monument on 11 February 2006. Currently the house is a Heritage and Cultural Centre.This is one of two houses to escape the destruction of Sophiatown by the government in the late 1950s. The Odin Cinema There were two cinemas in Sophiatown. The larger was the Odin which at the time was also the largest in Africa and could seat 1 200 people. The other cinema, Balansky's, was the lower class, rougher movie-house while the Odin Cinema was more up-market. The Odin was the pride of Sophiatown. It was owned by a white couple, the Egnoses, who were known as Mr and Mrs Odin. Not only did they provide much loved entertainment, but also made the Odin available for political meetings, parties and stage performances. Some international acts played to multi-racial audiences at the Odin.[33] It was also the site of a series of "Jazz at the Odin" jam sessions featuring white and black musicians. Also, at a meeting at the Odin, the ultimately unsuccessful resistance to the destruction of Sophiatown began to coalesce. Freedom Square Freedom Square was located on the corner of Victoria and Morris Streets. It was famous in the 1950s for the political meetings held there. It was utilised by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Transvaal Congress Party. Many of the meetings were chaired by Trevor Huddleston. Here parties worked together against the apartheid regime.Freedom Square in Sophiatown should not be confused with Freedom Square in Kliptown, Soweto, where the Freedom Charter was adopted by the ANC in 1955. It was in this Freedom Square in Sophiatown that Nelson Mandela made his first public allusion to violence and armed resistance as a legitimate tool for change. This earned him a reprimand from Albert Luthuli who by then replaced Dr A.B. Xuma as president of the ANC. Current remnants of Freedom Square may be found beneath a school playing field alongside the Christ the King Church. Oak tree in Bertha Street The tree gained a sinister reputation as the "Hanging Tree" when two people hanged themselves from its branches, both due to being subjected to the forced removals. The tree was designated as of the first Champion Tree of South Africa. Champion trees are trees in South Africa that are of exceptional importance, and deserve national protection.
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TERM 2 Topic 2 continued
You will be expected to continue with the preparation of your theme programme, noting that the following items may be searched for, selected and prepared for term 2: Choral verse (term 1), monologue, scene extract, links, tableaus ( term 2)
Refine voice and body skills Apply interpretative skills and performance techniques to second piece, which should be individual piece based on a text such as monologue, poem, storytelling, dramatised prose, musical theatre extract Develop links (dramatic devices used to creatively fuse all the items), if the programme is a theme programme. Begin work on third piece, which may be individual or group such as movement piece, physical theatre, monologue, scene, poetry, storytelling, dramatised prose, musical theatre extract Demonstrate development and mastery of different dramatic and cultural forms and styles
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TERM 2 Topic 6: South African Contemporary Theatre (post 1994)
Content / Concepts / Skills To examine South African Theatre post-apartheid To examine Playwrights and groups To identify key features and conventions of Contemporary Theatre in South Africa To understand the purposes of Theatre in society
Theory • Background/context: social, political, religious, economic, artistic, historical (post- 1994) • Themes and concerns of contemporary writers such as: • Theatre for Reconciliation • Theatre for Identity • Theatre for Development • Theatre as social commentary • Theatre as political commentary • Examples of Playwrights, Directors and Theatre groups • Influence of movements and styles such as Satire, Physical Theatre, Rituals, One- Person Performance, Visual Theatre, Puppetry, Community Theatre • Key features and directions in Contemporary Theatre in South Africa • Role of the Director / Theatre-Maker / Designer Audience reception and critical response to the Play Text
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SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: POST 1994
Background/context: Social, Political, Religious, Economic, Artistic, Historical (post-1994)
Before 1994, South Africa was a country divided by racist laws under Apartheid. Many people and various groups fought against this inequality using various tools. One such tool was that of the theatre. Plays were used to express how people felt, their experiences and their pain. Protest theatre was a means of expressing how people were affected by Apartheid, their dissatisfaction with the system and a call for action to stop the unfair laws.
1994 saw the first democratic elections in South Africa. It marked the end of Apartheid and the start of the new South Africa. All people regardless of race had equal rights. A new constitution was later drawn up which protects the rights of all South Africans regardless of race, language, age, sex, religion or sexual orientation. The equality that was fought for by so many for so long had theoretically been achieved. We say theoretically as although on paper all South African’s were equal, there were still many problems to overcome. Economically there was still inequality and there were so many hurts and scars from the past that did not dissolve just because Apartheid was no longer in place. Reconciliation was needed. To reconcile means to heal the hurts and divides of the past and come together peacefully in order to move forward.
This political change meant change for theatre too. Protest or Struggle theatre was no longer relevant because the struggle was over, Apartheid was over. South African playwrights had to look for new motivation behind their plays. This has been possible because although Apartheid itself was over, the legacy and effects of it have not disappeared over night. South Africans are still trying to reconcile themselves with their past and with each other. There are new issues such as reconciliation, identity (for those who were marginalised as well as a national identity), there are also still many social and political problems which provide material for playwrights to comment on and explore with an audience through theatre.
Theatre for Reconciliation
Synonyms for Reconciliation: Understanding, Reunion, Ceasefire
Theatre has always been used as a tool for change or to spread an idea or message. After 1994 there was no further need for struggle theatre. South African’s now focussed on reconciliation. For so long we had been divided and now was time to heal those divides. To aid in this process the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established.
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The purpose of this commission was to help South African’s deal with what happened under Apartheid. The idea was to face the past and all the pain it holds in order to deal with it so that the country could move forward peacefully. With reconciliation comes forgiveness.
Reconciliation needs dialogue at all levels of society, and the arts can facilitate that dialogue. There is no doubt that for this country to survive and prosper, reconciliation is absolutely essential. But true reconciliation will only come when we are big enough to confront what happened yesterday, without bitterness. We cannot just sweep it under the carpet, and hope that all of a sudden, we shall live in brotherly or sisterly love, in a state of blissful amnesia. For us who were the victims of this holocaust it is important that we do not forget. We owe it to future generations that what happened to us must never happen again. It must never be repeated, not only by those who oppressed us before, but we ourselves must never assume the new role of the oppressor. We must never forget, but of course this does not mean that we must cling to the past, and wrap it around us, and live for it, and be perpetual victims who wallow in a masochistic memory of our national humiliation. We must get out of that rut, and get on with the business of reconstructing our lives. The future is beckoning.
Mda, Z. (1994). The Role of Culture in the Process of Reconciliation in South Africa. Paper presented at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Seminar No. 9, 30 November. Theory
Theatre for reconciliation aims to promote understanding of the past in order to move forward. John Khani’s play “Nothing But the Truth” is an example of such theatre. The play uses the TRC as the context to the plot. Through the TRC South African’s were confronting their painful past in order to forgive, reconcile and move forward in peace. The characters in “Nothing But the Truth” go through the same process in their personal lives. There are painful truths from the past that they must face and discuss in order to let go of past hurts, forgive and move on with their lives without bitterness. The play sends the message to the audience that the truth leads to reconciliation and forgiveness.
Theatre for Identity “What does it mean to be a South African?”
Questions about identity are a real issue in post-Apartheid South Africa. In the past the differences between various groups of South Africans were highlighted in order to drive divides between South African people, today South African’s are encouraged to embrace our differences and to be unified in our diversity. South African’s have built a South African identity where we are encouraged to be proud of the diversity of cultures, languages and people which make up the nation. Theatre can be used to promote the idea of the ‘rainbow nation’.
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Theatre for Development
Various terms are (and can be) used for Theatre for Development (TFD), for example: popular theatre, propaganda theatre, case drama, developmental theatre forum, or sometimes, political theatre. Each of these terms indicates to some extent what this theatre tries to achieve. Theatre for Development is being developed as one way of helping the masses in the developing world to come to terms with their environment and the onus of improving their lot culturally, educationally, politically, economically and socially. Theatre for Development in Africa Christopher Kamlongera
Theatre can be used to develop communities in a number of ways. It can be used as an educational tool to inform audiences about any number of issues. Groups of performers will go into a community and work with people from that community to identify problems facing them. These groups will then create theatre that allows audiences to identify the problems and think critically about solutions. Sometimes the solutions will be presented to them for example new subsistence farming methods to avoid soil erosion or overgrazing or the plays can be more open ended allowing for audience participation to suggest possible solutions to problems where they see them played out. Issues presented can be anything from educational lessons for school groups to creating political awareness.
Option B: Set of notes on post 1994
“As South African celebrates the real possibility of the death of apartheid, the South African theatre movement faces a crisis. It is in danger of losing it central dynamo… How do we move beyond the reactive apartheid critique? How do we transcend the stock response and the slogan and begin formulating a comprehensive cultural response to the times.” MALCOLM PURKEY (1996) [Theatre-maker and academic]
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“In the post-apartheid era South Africa is no longer just black and white. There are shades of grey. We are now faced with complexities and ambiguities that we need to interpret. We have become normal and ordinary.” ZAKES MDA (2002) [Scholar, philosopher, novelist and playwright]
* BACKGROUND / CONTEXT
South Africa became a democracy after the general elections held on April 27, 1994. This date and the resulting inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president mark the formal termination of legalized apartheid and symbolize the end of the old and the beginning of the new South Africa. The socio-political transformation, called a ‘peaceful revolution’ by many, had an impact on every area of life in the Republic, including arts and culture.
Before 1994 South African playwrights and other creative artists had for many years had a clearly focused objective in their work, a cause which was supported worldwide – their protest against a universally condemned social evil (apartheid) provided them with a source of dramatic and emotional material, while their cause provided a powerful source of creative inspiration. In the new South African democracy since 1994, the first question that usually springs to mind is what did the theatre – makers have to talk about and focus upon when apartheid eventually became an issue only of historical interest?
Following the socio-political change in South Africa after the democratic elections of 1994 the relationship between the state and the arts changed markedly. Whereas, under apartheid, the white population groups benefited greatly from government support for the primarily Eurocentric cultural heritage and the arts, the new South Africa recognised a multi-cultural and multi-lingual population whose every human right was protected under the new Constitution. Under the new government priorities shifted and this resulted in a transformation of the state-subsidised Performing Arts Councils and generally in the financial dynamic of the arts and culture sector. During the first decade of democracy an arts festival circuit emerged which provided opportunities for specific population groups to celebrate their cultural heritage and also for new independent theatre-makers to enter the industry. After the demise of apartheid there was no longer a market for the protest theatre that had become a hallmark of much South African performing arts in the 1970s and 80s and the creative artists had to discover new areas of focus and find alternative creative stimuli.
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THEMES AND CONCERNS OF CONTEMPORARY WRITERS
In order to survive and to remain relevant, the theatre practitioners were challenged to focus on a new set of issues and to make theatre in a new social and political environment.
The quest for themes or cause illustrated that instead of unified resistance against a common and easily identifiable enemy like apartheid, South Africa theatre in the 1990’s tended to fragment into a multitude of individual issues.
Looking at life in a new democracy and holding up the theatrical mirror to reflect the exhilarating new reality of being part of the Rainbow Nation it was inevitable that theatre-makers would identify and dramatise problematic social area and challenges as well.
In a post-apartheid reality, where the biggest struggle had been won, the focus tended to narrow in on social reconstruction and development: - * the enormous task of HEALING in a dislocated, problematic society. * petty and violent crime * domestic violence * rape * HIV/AIDS pandemic * conscience of the Afrikaner * racial and gender equality * individual human rights / liberties * interracial and same sex relationships * Corruption
The spectrum of issues has become “extensive and multicoloured” – certainly more complex and challenging. Diverse theatrical systems emerged: - Mainstream and professional theatre (productions of plays by professional companies) - Amateur theatre - School and university theatre - Community theatre - Socially committed and educational theatre - Theatre for development - Industrial theatre
On one hand, theatre- makers were challenged to deal with a range of difficult issues but on the other hand, they were making theatre for a new audience, in a dramatically transformed society, with new interests and new expectations.
The themes and concerns of contemporary written will be further explored in the section that follows.
PLAYWRIGHTS, DIRECTORS AND THEATRE GROUPS Prominent general thematic trends evolved amounts professional theatre-makers.
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RECONCILIATION
Within a year after the elections of April 1994 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up. Its mandate was to look into the apartheid years and to establish as complete a picture as possible of the human rights violation committed during that period. Objective: - was to seek the truth, record it and make it public knowledge. - to restore the moral order of SAn society - to help create an environment which valued human dignity and respected the law. - to prevent brutalities of the past from ever been repeated.
Reconciliation in an historically divided society was a top item on the political agenda and a topic explored by many theatre-makers, such as:
ATHOL FUGARD in his play, “My Life” (1994). In the play Fugard brings together five young South African women from across the racial spectrum, ages ranging from 15-21 and facilitating the documentation of each one’s personal experiences during the final days of apartheid and the first days of democracy.
“My Life” had its premiere in July 1994 at the National Festival for the Arts Grahamstown.
In his first drama, “Nothing but the Truth” (2002) John Kani also chose to focus on the realities of life in post-apartheid South Africa, as a central theme.
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Following the realistic style, the playwright explores the advantages and disadvantages of the TRC through the varied opinions of the main characters in the play about the authenticity of the TRC. [see notes on the play for further info].
Playwright : John Kani
THEATRE OF IDENTITY
Immediately after the peaceful revolution of 1994 every South African individual was confronted with a new, as yet undefined socio-political environment in which s/he had to find themselves anew and also find a place and a role. Many theatre-makers tackled this challenge by simply telling their story – some of these productions were fictional narratives but they were cathartic in intent. The productions contained an element of self-exploration in a new socio-political environment. Whatever the specific themes of individual productions following his trend, the general theme was clearly one of identity and identification.
In the play, “Woman in Waiting” (1999) by Thembi Mtshali, a successful actress from KZN, she tells her own story in three parts, first as a child in rural KZN, then as a servant in a white household in Durban and eventually as a successful actress (4 years in Ipi Tombi in New York, London and JHB, and many other roles on stage and TV).
The life story of Thembi Mtshali-Jones comes to the Cape Town stage with A Woman In Waiting . The production was created in collaboration with prominent writer/director Yael Farber pictured above during the late 90′s as South Africa began grappling with the fallout from apartheid. It has travelled the world, winning many awards and built up a formidable reputation as honest, searing, healing theatre
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Another successful autobiographical one-woman play, “At Her feet” (2003) by Nadia Davids, tells the story of a young South African, Muslim woman – a member of another group marginalized in the old SA, who now has to find a place in the new democracy, but also in a post 9/11 world.
A number of productions also focused on the stories of social groups or specific cultural segments of society as their subject matter.
As a member of the Afrikaner minority, Deon Opperman premeried his play, “Donkerland” [Dark Country] in 1996. It reflected the socio-political pessimism experienced by many Afrikaner after the 1994 elections.
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Playwright: Ronnie Govender
Since racial separation classified life in apartheid SA, issues surrounding social and cultural grouping and identities continued echoing in the theatre. South African Indian also continued to make themselves visible on stage. Some popular playwrights: Ronnie Govender: “At the Edge” (1996)
Rajesh Gopie : “Out of Bounds” (1999) “The Coolie Odyssey” (2002) These plays dealt with Indian life, religious ideals, local politics – satirical in nature while critically evaluating the Indian community and their expectations in the new socio-political reality.
Playwright : Rajesh Gopie
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THEATRE FOR DEVELOPMENT / SOCIAL COMMENTARY (LIFE IN A NEW DEMOCRACY)
Art in general and the theatre in particular has often been described as a mirror-the theatre as a mirror reflecting the society it invites to fill the auditorium and to observe images of itself reflected in the glare of the footlights.
In 1994, playwright, John Ledwaba was about the first to ask the question: how democracy was going to change the country. His play, “Jozi Jozi Guide” (1994) opened at the market theatre and focused on the transformation, the Africanisation that was taking place in the city of Johannesburg.
Playwright : John Ledwaba
The old versus the new and the challenges brought along by a rapidly changing socio- political reality was also he subject of “Valley Song” by Athol Fugard. It dealt with the challenges and opportunities facing a new generation in an entirely new environment. An old coloured man in the rural Eastern Cape has lovingly brought up his teenage granddaughter in the value, the fears and limited expectations of the old South African – but she has aspirations to be more – hers is a dream of freedom. The metaphor is apparent: the old must find the wisdom to let go of the past and the new must find the courage to take the first steps into the future.
Paul Butler as Abraam "Buks" Jonkers, an old Coloured tenant farmer in South Africa and Anika Noni Rose as Veronica Jonkers, his granddaughter in the play,Valley Song.
Other plays provided insight into inevitable polarisations in politicised South African society – political (in) correctness and inter-racial tensions, some writers explored the freedom of sexual association.
In the play “Not with my Gun” (1998), co-written with Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom, Aubrey Sekhabi focused on the new South African Urban black middle-class experience: four black life-long friends catch a white burglar in the house – how do
35 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 these four middle class black men treat the terrified white criminal they have apprehended?
Play makers also dealt with dilemmas of the white middle class who had to deal with change on multiple levels from mid-life crisis to socio political transformation. While a young married couple are packing to escape the new South Africa by emigrating another is coming to terms with a recent divorce – while somebody else had to deal with mid-life disillusionment.
In the context of examining life in a new democracy focus was also on lives led by marginalized sub-groups of social-outcast and their means of escape – booze, rape, abuse, domestic violence and survival in crime-ridden cities / townships. Life in South Africa was explored by many writers highlighting specific areas like corruption, nepotism the gravy train and the increase in crime.
Through satire, musical, colourful narrative the current reality of South Africa was explored. A number of productions focusing on social challenges looked at rape- the most form of woman and child abuse. In 1999 Phyllis Klotz wrote the play, “Behind Closed Doors” a powerful play featuring six black female characters, victims for abuse and rape.
Playwright : Phyllis Klotz
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Inspired by an horrific incident of infant rape that took place in Northern Cape in 2001, Lara Foot – Newton wrote and directed “Tshepang – The Third Testament” (2003). It starts with the story of nine-month-old infant sissie, who was renamed Tshepang (Hope) by the community because she survived the rape and was not infected with HI Virus.
Plays also explored what kind of society South Africa has become? It touched upon, social problems like poverty, lack of education and motivation, Aids, unemployment and boredom, alcoholism and drugs, sexual violence and other issues that formed part of the everyday lives of those section of New South African society in which these crimes most commonly occurred.
The stage is transformed to a post-apartheid kitchen in the Eastern Cape of the Karoo. The visceral struggles of contemporary South Africa are laid bare in this domestic setting, as a deadly battle over power, sexuality, memory, mothers and land spirals out of control between John and Julie. The talent of these two young performances, Bongile Mantsai as ‘John’, Hilda Cronje as ‘Julie’ and Thoko Ntshinga as ‘Christine’ are astonishing to watch and the experience, breathtaking. South African Adaptation of Miss Julie
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In Solomon and Marion two very different characters, an ageing and heart-broken woman and a young man, each from opposite spectrums of the South African context, each carrying narratives of significant loss, are thrown together by extraordinary circumstances. Through delicate and careful story-telling a transition is facilitated from a condition of darkness to hope
THEATRE AS POLITICAL COMMENTARY
By the turn of the century it had become commonplace for theatre-makers to question and even condemn the actions of the new South African political leaders and the new princes of industry and commerce – in this case the blow was softened by the choice of genre: multi-lingual musical satire with multi-cultural casts and loads of song and dance.
One of the objectives of the new democratic South Africa was the peaceful re- distribution of wealth through affirmative action and other forms of social engineering, and the satirical reference to “redistribution into his own pocket” in the play, “Comrade Arms” by Anthony Akerman, was an example of careful, humorous comment on certain elements amongst the new authorities.
Lesego Rampolokeng first play, “Fanon’s Children”, a poetic, multi-media play two black men in the new South Africa find themselves about to be evicted from their shack, their home, as it is scheduled to be demolished. The play demonstrates that the common people, the majority in the new SA, have experienced no tangible improvement in their lives.
It also indicates how far struggle leaders in the post-liberation era have allowed themselves to be removed from the people and communities and put them into positions of power and privilege. Such sentiments were also echoed in John Kani’s, “Nothing but the Truth” – disillusionment, Sipho’s own post – liberation dream of becoming chief librarian does not materialize. He urges the political leaders he voted into power to acknowledge him the “Everyman”, one of the million who voted the ANC into power.
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INFLUENCE OF MOVEMENTS AND STYLES
SATIRE
- The truth about life in the new democracy was one of the themes of “Happy Natives” (2002), a powerful satirical play by Greig Coetzee. His play become a scorching send-up of South African stereotypes and preconceptions and an expose of hypocrisy.
- Foremost socio-political satirist and one-man performer Pieter-Dink Uys had shifted his primary focus after 1994 from anti-apartheid political commentary to social issues and specifically the AIDS pandemic. He also used his razor-sharp and hugely popular political satire to expose the ineffective role that the new government was playing in the war against the disease. Never overly concerned about political correctness, Pieter- Dink Uys in a succession of popular one-man socio-political satires including, “Truth Ommissions” (1996) and “”You ANC Nothing Yet” (1996) – addressed a wide range of social challenges, including the threat of corruption. He targeted high-profile figures and new South African political leaders from across the spectrum.
Also voicing his concern with (the danger of) corruption in the new SA was playwright Selaelo Maredi in his play, “Backstage”. He focused on corrupt officials specifically in the department of pensions and welfare and the resultant exploitation and humiliation of indigent black pensioners.
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PHYSICAL THEATRE
Physical Theatre has made an immense contribution to the development of post- apartheid drama in South Africa.
Lara Foot – Newton workshopped and directed, “Ma-Gents”, in a physical theatre style, including mime, song and dance and using four languages in the dialogue, the play explored perceptions of masculinity in the new SA.
Andrew Buckland premiered a one-man show “Feedback” at the Grahamstown festival in 1994. It was an energetic combination of dialogue, song, mime, onomatopoeia and dazzingly executed physical theatre that sounded a warning about corruption and greed.
Physical Theatre is a form which is well suited to a country where people speak many different languages. For example, Nicholas Ellenbogen sees the languages of the physical body as very important in his production.
His troupe, “Theatre for Africa” is involved mostly in projects which educate audiences on issues involving care and conservation of the environment and he sees physical theatre as a way of reaching a wide number of people who might not speak English – an emphasis on the body bridges many of the gaps between speakers of different languages.
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“Dialogue – something written and spoken – does not specifically belong to the stage but to books…I maintain the stage is a tangible, physical place that needs to be filled and it ought to be allowed to speak its own tangible language” Antonin Artuad.
RITUALS
Theatre-makers like Andrew and Janet Buckland, Bheki Mkhwane, Mark Fleishman, Brett Bailey and others started to explore the powerful theatrical elements of Black (South) African cultures, history, mythology, symbolism, performance traditions and even (often scared) rituals on stage.
The first example is the work done by Brett Bailey who found himself fascinated by the theatrical potential of Xhosa ritual, myth and culture. He worked with a large cast of non- professional actors and musicians, township dwellers, real-life sangomas (traditional heaters) and school children in the creation of a trilogy: “The plays of miracle and wonder: Ipi Zombie, Imumbo Jumbo, The Prophet” (2003).
At the Grahamstown Festival in 2001 Andrew and Janet Bucklands incorporated Xhosa traditions and rituals into their powerful productions of “Makana”. The Bucklands staged a multi-media production that combined their own style of physical theatre with the use of song and dance, Xhosa praise poetry and African ritual. The initiation rites that include the circumcision of young boys and the slaughter of a cow as a sacrifice to the ancestors are examples of sacred rituals that formed part of the action.
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Social upliftment was high on the agenda of the new government after 1994 – a deep respect for tribal values, culture, traditions and rituals formed a key ingredient of work done by theatre – makers. Apart from an obvious educational objective, such productions were often of a high aesthetic, theatrical and entertainment standard and while reaching their primary target audience at grass roots level in the township, they were often staged in mainstream venues and at arts festivals as well.
PUPPETRY In 1997 a production which drew directly upon the TRC for reference and dramatic content was “Ubu and the Truth Commission” by Jane Taylor, a powerful Handspring puppet company production directed by Willian Kentridge.
Loosely combining the outrageous Ubu character from French surrealist poet Alfred Jarry’s anarchic puppet – play “Ubu Roi” (1896) with actual testimonies heard at the TRC, the play examined some relevant central questions about guilt, remove, justice and injustice.
Kentridge used multimedia techniques on stage, employing animation, charcoal, write chalk and paper cut-out montages, historical film footage, puppets, a musical score and a strong cast of live actors to put on a vigorously, stirring production.
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KEY FEATURES AND DIRECTIONS IN CONTEMPORARY THEATRE
The general landscape in which theatre was produced, staged and performed in South Africa changed significantly with the onset of democracy, two key factors being the transformation of the performing arts council into playhouses and the emergence of the arts festivals circuit. New independent theatre companies were formed to either tour the festivals, try the mainstream circuit or perform in the many informed café or quasi-cabaret venues that sprung up around the country.
There was also a clear trend towards the establishment of privately-owned, normally smaller theatre venues, for e.g. Themi Venturas launched the 185-seat Catalina Theatre at Wilson’s Wharf in Durban.
The Barnyard Theatre, lauched in Piettenburg Bay in 1996, did not remain a single newly opened theatre Venue, but it gave birth to a complete business enterprise.
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After 1994 the international recognition and acceptance of the new SA made it easier for bigger, established independent commercial theatre-makers to import large commercial hits like “Les Miserables”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Cats” and “The Lion King”. One such prominent theatre producer was Pieter Toerien founder of the Montecasino Theatre in Johannesburg in 2000.
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Previously Pretest Theatre Venues, like the market theatre, space theatre and the Baxter (Cape Town) were to become cultural institutions – create centres for original, challenging and relevant theatre productions.
South Africa's 'theatre of struggle'
As opposed to a strong anti-apartheid protest theatre interest before 1994, the main focus of post – apartheid community theatres fell in varying degress on “social and development issues” on one hand, and vocational training combined with social upliftment on the other.
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Theatre-makers like Mbogeni Ngema who has made commercial success internationally with his earlier musical dramas like “Sarafina” and “Asinamali” continued working on productions post 1994. “The Zulu” premiered at the market Theatre in 1999. This colourful, energetic musical was staged again at the Natal Playhouse in December 2013.
South Africa’s theatre makers seemed to be intent on surviving the changes, using their creative and artistic ability to adjust to the new realities and the challenges faced in a new socio-political environment and also, to a degree, the reflection of those new realities and challenges in the mirror that is the theatre of this new democracy.
“ By means of such games as theatre … performances are presented which probe a community’s weaknesses, call its leaders to account, desacralize its most cherished values and beliefs, portray its characteristic conflicts and suggest remedies for them, and generally take stock of its current situation in the known ‘world’”.
Victor Turner (From Ritual to Theatre)
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TERM 2 Topic 7: Prescribe Play Text 3 South African Contemporary Theatre (post-1994)- NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH by JOHN KANI
Content / Concepts / Skills
To analyse and evaluate the text in terms of its genre and context.
Theory
• Background/context: socio-political, religious, economic, artistic, historical and, theatrical, as relevant to chosen play text
• Background to the Playwright / Script developers
• Principles of Drama (plot, character, dialogue, theme) in chosen play text
• Style and genre of the Play Text
• Staging and setting on stage and set
• Conventions and techniques
• Reception and critical response to the Play Text
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BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN KANI
Born: 1943 in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth.
2nd of 11 children. Came from a poor neighbourhood.
Lived through Apartheid
One of South Africa’s most prominent actors, directors & playwrights.
Executive trustee of the Market Theatre.
Chairman of the National Arts Council of South Africa.
Co-founder of the Market Theatre Laboratory.
1965: Joined “The Serpent Players” During oppressive 1970’s: Kani, Fugard & Winston Ntshona wrote ➢ Worked with Athol Fugard
➢ No plays were published – would have been banned or Sizwe Banzi is Dead & The Island. used as evidence by police ➢ All plays were received well by audiences 2 plays became known as “Resistance Theatre” 1975: won a Tony Award in 1982: Performance of Miss America. Returned to Julie in Cape Town. Half the audience walked out when South Africa & was Kani kissed a white girl on detained for 23 days with stage no reason.
1985: Kani’s brother was shot dead by a policeman while reciting poetry at the funeral of a 9-year-old girl who had been killed during riots. Nothing But The Truth is a tribute to his younger brother
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Nothing but the truth
Set in the year 2000, during the time of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
During Apartheid, South African After 1994, Kani found a new voice for Theatre = Protest Theatre theatre.
➢ A tool to challenge the ➢ Freedom had been won oppressive government & bring ➢ No need for Protest Theatre about a change in society. ➢ Theatre for Reconciliation
Kani uses the play to explore many issues that arose after 1994:
1. Freedom
2. Tension between those in exile & those who remained in the
country.
3. Healing the wounds from the past & moving on.
The play also explores issues relevant to the youth of today:
➢ Sibling rivalry ➢ The importance of cultural traditions ➢ Ubuntu ➢ The generation gap
➢ Taking responsibility for one’s progress in life.
While the TRC acts as a broad backdrop to the unfolding of the play, the issues of truth & forgiveness are explored on a personal level through the characters.
Sipho & Themba: – The truth about their pasts & Sipho’s forgiveness of his brother.
Sipho & Thando :-
The truth about Thando’s mother & why she left.
Sipho’s fear of losing Thando. The need to ‘let go’
Sipho & Mandisa: – The truth about her father; not wanting to hear or believe the truth because it is painful.
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Set in the year 2000, during the time of the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission)
• a tribute to his brother who was killed by police in 1985 while he was reciting a poem at the funeral of a 9-year-old who was killed in the riots.
BACKGROUND/CONTEXT: SOCIO-POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS, ECONOMIC, ARTISTIC, HISTORICAL, THEATRICAL
Before 1994 South African Theatre = Protest Theatre ( tool used to challenge the oppressive government and to bring about change in society)
↓ After 1994, Kani found a new voice for theatre – Theatre for Reconciliation (Freedom had been won; no need for protest theatre) Nothing but the by John Kani
John Kani uses the play to explore many issues that arose after 1994 such as:- • FREEDOM
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• TENSION between those in exile and those who remained in the country • RECONCILIATION (healing the wounds from the past and moving on The play also explores issues relevant to the youth of today:
• SIBLING RIVALRY • CULTURAL TRADITIONS • UBUNTU • THE GENERATION GAP • TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONE’S PROGRESS IN LIFE
While the TRC acts as a broad backdrop to the unfolding of the play, the issues of TRUTH and FORGIVENESS are explored on a personal level through the characters:
SIPHO and THEMBA = the truth about their pasts and Sipho’s forgiveness of his brother SIPHO and THANDO = the truth about Thando’s mother and why she left. Sipho’s fear of losing Thando (the need to let go) SIPHO and MANDISA = the truth about her father. Not wanting to hear or Believe the truth because it is painful
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BIOGRAPHY: John Kani
--South African theatre great John Kani. Photo courtesy www.africanfilmfestival.org Actor, director, playwright and co-founder of Johannesburg’s Market Theatre Laboratory, Bonsile John Kani, affectionately known as the “grandfather of South African theatre”, was born in New Brighton, in the Eastern Cape, on November 30, 1943.
Kani felt the lure of the theatre early on in life, taking to the stage while still at school. In 1965, while working for the Ford Motor Company in Port Elizabeth, he joined the Serpent Players – an acting collective whose first performance was in the former snake pit of a zoo – in which he worked alongside Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona.
Kani, Ntshona and Fugard’s collaborative relationship resulted in the internationally acclaimed productions Sizwe Banzi is Dead (1972) and The Island (1973). Both plays made strong political statements about the repressive apartheid regime of the day: The Island, inspired by a true story, is set in an unnamed prison that is clearly based on Robben Island, while Sizwe Banzi is Dead tells of the regime’s restrictive pass laws. These two plays became known as “Resistance Theatre”.
In 1975, Ntshona and Kani were recognised in New York for their performances in The Island and Sizwe Banzi is Dead, jointly receiving a Tony Award for Best Actor for their work. Upon his return to South Africa, Kani was arrested and detained for 23 days.
Kani’s 1982 performance in Miss Julie in Cape Town was particularly controversial. Half of the audience walked out of the production when he kissed a white woman on stage – an act that resulted in death threats and an assassination attempt, in which he was stabbed 11 times.
In 1989, Kani and Market Theatre co-founder Barney Simon founded Johannesburg’s Market Theatre Laboratory, a drama school for young people who could not attend university because they lacked the funds or educational qualifications. Today, the Lab runs outreach and community training programmes and stages community festivals, and Kani is the executive trustee of the Market Theatre Foundation.
Kani made his debut as sole playwright in 2002 with Nothing but the Truth, which was first performed at the Market Theatre. The play, set in post-apartheid South Africa, explores the tensions between black South Africans who stayed in the country during the anti-apartheid struggle and those who went into exile. The play is a tribute to Kani’s
53 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 brother, who was killed by police in 1985 while reciting a poem at the funeral of a nine- year-old girl killed during riots.
Nothing but the Truth has received numerous accolades. In 2003 it won three Fleur Du Cap Awards, for Best Actor, Best Indigenous Script and Best New South African Play. It has also won five Naledi Theatre Awards and had successful runs locally and abroad (it has been staged in Los Angeles, Boston, Sydney and New York). In 2008 the play was made into a feature film.
Kani himself has been the recipient of various local and international awards in the course of this theatrical career. In 2003, he received an Obie award in the US acknowledging his contribution to theatre. On February 20, 2010, he was honoured with a South African Film and Television Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received the Avanti Hall of Fame Award from the South African film, television and advertising industries, an M-Net Plum Award and a Clio Award in New York. In 2005 the South African government bestowed the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver on Kani in recognition of his contribution to theatre and the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
Other awards include the Hiroshima Peace Culture FoundationAward (2000) and the Olive Schreiner Prize(2005). In 2006, Kani was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town.
But it was his father’s recognition of his chosen career, shortly before his death, which Kani counts as his proudest moment. “My father could never understand why I did not have a proper job and could not bring himself to call me an actor. Three months before he died, I came back from New York where I was working on a movie. As I walked into the house he was sitting with his friends. He said “Guys, I want you to meet my son, John Kani, the actor.”
Kani’s stirring work, Nothing but the Truth, is what he is most proud of. As South Africa settles as a democracy, Kani believes so too are its artists beginning to find their voice and place in the development of truly unique theatre.
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THE SPARK for KANI!!!
The grandee of South African drama, John Kani, shares wisdom gained through a life fully-lived:
After 1994 I felt there was something missing in my life – a good cause. I’d spent so many years fighting injustice. When I was young I was very angry, which gave me something to fight for.
The challenge today, though, is not to pass the hatred we had on to our children. When we reminisce about the struggle, the pain, they take it in and feel their parents’ suffering. They take it into the classroom – this is wrong.
What happens when you’re young can affect your whole life. I used to listen to Springbok Radio and loved Consider your Verdict. I decided I wanted to be a barrister, like the character in the series.
My interest in the Arts began. Storytelling. My grandfather had three wives and he could not spell polygamy – he just had three wives. He was a very proud native. He hated school because it took the children away from working on the fields to a place called school where they come back and do homework and are never available for work. He hated school because children sat on a desk and when they came home they never gave the elderly people the chairs because they’re used to sitting down on a desk. Back then, I found that storytelling was dealing with the inner feeling that I wanted to express to my people. I wasn’t interested in CINDERELLA or NO, NO NANETTE or all the Tennessee Williams plays. I wanted to be involved in plays that spoke to my people. I wanted to be involved in work that moved my people.
In 1985, I buried my younger brother. While reciting a poem in the funeral of a nine year old little girl – hit by a tear gas canister. In 1986, I survived two assassination attempts, ordered by the CCB, the secret police. I stand here with 11 stab wounds – left for dead. I heard them say: “Hy’s dood (he’s dead), ons kan gaan (we can go). My wife was in the car. She wasn’t touched. I even had dry cleaning in my car – nothing was touched. I was there. A night watchman from an adjoining area where they were still building
55 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 parts of Doranginza found me there and called the ambulance. When we arrived in the hospital, a black doctor said, no a white doctor said :”Who is this guy?” And someone said: “This is John Kani.” “What happened?” “He was attacked.” It is this white young doctor who hid me in the isolation ward for infectious diseases because if the security found out that you’re still alive, they would have come to the hospital and finished the job. I heard while I was hidden by this white young doctor that they were looking for me at the casualty to complete the job. And that’s why some friend of mine said: “Every time I get to the point of really hating the white man, and wanting to really kill them, some stupid white man comes and does something good to me, and it messes up my revolution!” I have never forgotten the face of that young man who hid me.
It was Antigone, an ancient Greek play penned by Sophocles that first ignited Kani’s interest in the stage. In the story, Odepus’ sons Eteocles and Polynices slay one another in a fight for control of the kingdom of Thebes. After that, King Creon rules that Polynices, who had been in exile prior to the fight, is unworthy of a burial. But Polynices’ sister, Antigone, defies the order, and as a result is sentenced to die alone while imprisoned in a cave.
At its close, Antigone poses a difficult question: DO UNJUST LAWS DESERVE TO BE BROKEN? To Kani, Antigone’s struggle mirrored life under apartheid, the former political ideology of South Africa that mandated racial segregation. “The law was unjust,” Kani said. “The government was unjust. It was right to break the law.” After being exposed to Antigone, Kani realized that the theatre was more than just a form of entertainment; it was a platform to communicate important ideas.
FOR more on the above go to the following links: • http://www.ispa.org/ideas/kani.html • http://www.thetartan.org/2007/1/22/pillbox/kani
AFTER READING THE TEXT: See if you can find a parallel between ANTIGONE and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
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Background Notes for Nothing but the Truth
The struggle against apartheid
The following are brief descriptions of the roles played by the people mentioned in nothing but the Truth.
Bra Hugh and Sis Miriam
Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba are both prominent South African musicians who were once married. Makeba is a singer, well known for the ‘The Click Song’, and Masekela is one of South Africa’s leading jazz musicians, particularly on the trumpet.
The Craddock Case
The Craddock case refers to the ‘Craddock Four’ from the Eastern Cape: Sicelo Mhlauli, Sparrow Mkhonto, Fort Calata and Matthew Goniwe. They were political activists who were killed by the South African security forces in 1984.
Ruth First and Joe Slovo
Ruth First and Joe Slovo were both anti-apartheid activists who met while studying at the University of Witswaterrand in Johannesburg. They married in 1949 and throughout the 1950’s their home in Roosevelt Park was an important centre for multiracial political greetings.
Ruth First was an activist and a journalist who helped to establish the Congress of Democrats in 1953. During a government crackdown in 1963, First was detained in solitary confinement under the 90-day clause, which gave police officer the right to detain a person for as long as three months without a warrant. After her release she was forced into exile. First was killed in 1982 by a letter bomb, which was sent to Mozambique University where she worked. The Bureau of State security, a government agency that monitored national security, was responsible for her death.
Joe Slovo was a lawyer, a senior ANC member and a member of the South African Communist Party (SACP). He took on the role of Umkhonto we Sizwe chief of staff while in exile in London. Slovo returned to South Africa in 1990 and later served as minister of housing in the government of National Unity. He died of cancer in 1995.
Craig Williamson
Craig Williamson, a former policeman, was also an apartheid-era spy. He was often referred to as a ‘super spy’ by the press. At the TRC hearings he confessed to the murders of Ruth First, Mrs. Schoon and Mrs. Schoon’s daughter, Katryn.
Mrs. Schoon
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Jeanette Schoon, wife of ANC Activist Marius Schoon, and her seven-year-old daughter, Katryn, were killed by a letter bomb that Craig Williamson sent to their home.
The Pebco Three
The Pebco Three were the three leaders of the Port Elizabeth Black Organization: Sipho Hashe, Qwagwahuli Godolozi and Champion Galela. They were involved in mobilizing the Eastern Cape activists to embark on a consumer boycott. In May 1985, they disappeared, never to be seen again.
Derby-Lewis and Janus Walus
These two men were responsible for the assassination of Chris Hani, a popular leader in the ANC as well as in the SACP. Hani was assassinated in April 1993, during peace talks between the National Party and the ANC. Both Derby-Lewis and Walus were extremely conservative and it is believed that they acted independently of any government forces.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The TRC arose out of a need to cleanse a society that had suffered a past of severe social injustice and violence. There had been much bloodshed during the Struggle, and many lives had been lost. The apartheid government, its security forces and civil service had violated the human rights of its citizens in many horrifying ways and had much to account for. Other political groups that had participated in the struggle, such as Umkhonto we Sizwe, had also committed acts of violence and need to be held accountable for them.
The TRC was established through the realization of the biblical principle that ‘the truth shall set you free’ and was led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It was founded in 1996 and its main aims were to expose the crimes of apartheid era, to allow for confession and forgiveness to victims of apartheid crimes a forum to tell their stories.
The TRC was based in Cape Town, but hearings were held throughout the country. The TRC did not exempt any side from the hearings. They heard confessions from people involved in the apartheid atrocities, as well as confessions from the people involved in the struggle (including the ANC)
Although the work of the TRC has generally been heralded as successful, it is not without controversy. One of the biggest areas of contention revolves around the granting of amnesty. In Nothing but the Truth, Thando says: ‘We could have gone for
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Nuremburg-style trials but how would that have made us different from them?’ the Nuremburg Trials took place between 1945 and 1949, after World War II. The purpose of these trials was to expose and punish the leaders of Nazi Germany who had committed horrific violations against humanity. Many of the Nazi leaders were tried, found guilty and either sentenced to death of given prison sentences. The TRC set out to be different, not only from Nuremburg Trials, but also from the perpetrators of apartheid. Its main goal was to bring about reconciliation in a wounded society. It was felt that this could not be done through retributive means. Thus the granting of amnesty became a tool for reconciliation.
There were certain conditions for the granting of amnesty. The crimes had to be politically motivated and the perpetrator had to give full disclosure. Of the 7112 petitioners, 849 were granted amnesty, while 5392 were denied amnesty.
Another of the controversies surrounding the TRC is the issue of justice. Can reconciliation only occur after justice has been served? Or can reconciliation truly proceed simply through the confession and repentance of individuals? There are many victims in South Africa who have struggled with this, including John Kani himself, which explains his exploration of this consent with Nothing but the Truth. Many people felt that the TRC favored perpetrators of abuse and were angered by granting of amnesty to leaders within the apartheid structures. Steve Biko’s family is one of the more prominent families who feel the TRC robbed them of justice. Steve Biko was one of the country’s most prominent struggle leaders. He died in police custody in 1977.
South Africa has become a role model for other countries that have adopted the process of TRC in various ways, but not always successfully. This way to achieve a level of reconciliation and justice remains a debatable issue, not only in South Africa but throughout the World.
The Concept of
Ubuntu is a uniquely Southern African concept which has to do with the way in which we see and treat other human beings. It encourages us to see the humanity of others, and to treat all individuals with tolerance, sensitivity and respect. In the play, Sipho refers to Ubuntu as ‘African humanity’. John Kani refers to it as the ability to think with one’s emotions, and thus make a positive contribution to society: to impact upon the lives of individuals who are not just part of a mass but who are human beings who need to be touched with goodness and kindness. Ubuntu requires leaders to be servants of the people, sensitive to the needs of those people. Ubuntu means understanding that
59 | P a g e Dramatic Arts S e l f - Study Resource Pack Grade 12 we do not exist in isolation, but that we are part of a community and therefore responsible for one other.
PRINCIPLES OF DRAMA
PLOT AND STRUCTURE:
PLOT SUMMARY
Nothing but the Truth takes place in the present time. Now, in the new South Africa, where the end of apartheid means a black man can graduate from the racial prejudice of his youth to the age discrimination of his late middle years. Sipho is a highly skilled librarian. A temperate man who has lived an honourable and temperate life. As a black man under Apartheid he was quiet successful. Now the library decided it is time to have a black man fill the post of library director. He counts on being chosen only to lose out to a younger man. Sipho had marched to protest against apartheid but it was his younger brother who had been the firebrand - a brother who was favoured by their father, who seemed to float to the top of any situation, who became a prominent voice of the revolution, and who lived in exile in England. His brother has died and Sipho is awaiting the arrival of his brother’s daughter with the body of the flamboyant brother with whom he has not had contact for twenty five years. Sipho lives with his own daughter, a modest but independent young woman, Thando, in a simple cluttered house. Sipho seethes with sibling rivalry as he tells his daughter about the uncle she has never met. Simmering with fury, he describes all the times he was hurt by his brother from the day his father insisted young Sipho give up a wire bus had spent four days constructing, only to have his brother destroy it, to the years Sipho spent working, at their father’s behest, foregoing the college education he craved so that his brother would have all the opportunities. Despite the bitterness he is aquiver with anticipation at seeing his brother’s body and giving him the proper traditional burial in the homeland. Sipho is a very proper man. Mandisa, the niece, is a brassy young Londoner, who, rather than bringing her father’s body, has arrived with his ashes in a marble jar. Sipho is appalled by her and besides himself because she has cremated his brother’s remains. His anger at his brother immediately turns to outrage at the flaunting of their cultural traditions. Mandisa has planned to stay at a fancy hotel and to check out the night life and some African clothing designers in the few days she is planning to be there. Thando is both attracted to her bubbling cousin and aghast at her disregard for tradition and lack of respect. It is the tale of the plain country mouse versus the flashy and alluring city mouse.
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South Africa moved from racial chaos to relative harmony through the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Thando is a daily observer of the process whereby Apartheid criminals who came clean about their atrocities were forgiven so the country could rebuild rather than become mired in post- revolutionary chaos, recrimination and retribution. She drags her newfound cousin with her to a session and the airhead Mandisa comes back a profoundly changed young woman. Thando too is changed by her cousin. She is more willing to confront her father and demands to know the truth about her own mother who left when Thando was eighteen months old, and about her uncle whom her father always refuse to discuss, blaming his brother for the death of Thando’s brother, Luvuyo, who was killed in a riot. If there was to be public truth, Thando demands her private truth as well.
STRUCTURE
Being a play with a linear development the exposition, rising action and falling action can be clearly defined.
EXPOSITION : ➢ Sipho is a librarian and has recently applied for the post of chief librarian. He is waiting to hear if his application was successful. ➢ Sipho has a daughter, Thando, who works at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as an interpreter. ➢ His only son, Luvuyo is dead. ➢ Thando’s mother does not live with the family. ➢ Sipho is waiting to receive the body of his brother, Themba, who lived in England. ➢ He is making preparations for the funeral. ➢ Sipho had a difficult relationship with his brother. ➢ His English-born niece, Mandisa, is accompanying the body.
RISING ACTION :
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➢ Mandisa arrives with her father’s ashes in an urn. This is in conflict with cultural traditions and throws the funeral plans into disarray. ➢ Early in Act 2, a heated argument between Thando and Mandisa develops about the effectiveness of the TRC amnesty hearings. Sipho also has reservations about the hearings. ➢ Sipho suffers a bitter disappointment when he does not get the chief librarian position. ➢ Thando is conflicted about whether or not to accompany Mandisa to Johannesburg and possibly to London. ➢ A gradual expose` of Themba’s character develops, to the growing discomfort of Mandisa, culminating in the climax: Themba had an affair with Sipho’s wife.
FALLING ACTION :
➢ Sipho finally expresses his anger over everything that has been ‘taken’ from him and over his disapproval of the TRC hearings. He also expresses his wishes against his son’s murderer. ➢ Sipho verbalises his forgiveness of his brother and describes him as a true Struggle hero. ➢ Both girls express their love for Sipho. ➢ Mandisa tells Sipho that Themba loves him. ➢ Sipho gives Thando permission to go to Johannesburg. ➢ Siphoi starts planning a new African public library which he will run.
CHARACTERS
SIPHO :
➢ Librarian – keeper of the past, records, history. ➢ Wants to be the chief Librarian but does not get the job because he is too old. ➢ Feels that even in death – his brother, Themba is still taking from him. ➢ Raised Thando as his own daughter but cannot be sure he is really her father. ➢ His revelation of the truth and personal story is representative of the national situation.
Key to understanding Sipho’s character is an understanding of his relationship with his brother. It is a tense relationship, as Themba was their father’s favourite child and Sipho was always second best. Sipho says that Themba was ‘never there to take responsibility’, he didn’t even have to take responsibility for losing Sipho’s blazer. Sipho also remembers his parents reminding him that he is the ‘eldest’ and must therefore ‘understand’. Sipho’s own needs and feelings always came second to Themba’s. Sipho exclaims: ‘Damn you Themba!’ This pattern is extended into adulthood as Themba attended university when Sipho was not able to. Themba was praised at his father’s funeral while Sipho was just ‘Comrade
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Themba’s brother’. Sipho even came second to Themba in his marriage when he discovered that Themba was having an affair with his wife. Themba made Sipho feel betrayed, hurt rejected, angry, bitter and resentful.
Sipho’s distress about the ashes reveals that he is a traditional man for whom cultural practices are significant. He comes to terms with the ashes when Reverend Haya reminds him of the biblical verse: ‘Earth to earth, ashes to ashes and dust to dust’.
Although Themba has betrayed Sipho on the deepest level, Sipho’s words indicate that he is loyal to his family. His reply: ‘He is my brother’, implies that he can never cut those family ties. For him, family loyalties come before personal grievances.
Sipho’s role as the responsible brother is highlighted when he paid for the coffin, funeral arrangements and food. He alone filled the grave with soil, planted the cross and mourned his father. Sipho helped support Themba while he was at university and afterwards when he didn’t have a job.
Themba’s opinion of Sipho - Sipho was selfless, always putting ‘other people’s happiness first’. Sipho was also conservative, lacked a sense of humour and took life too seriously.
THEMBA : [ off-stage character]
An insight into the character of Themba through the eyes of Sipho and Mandisa.
SIPHO’S VIEW OF THEMBA MANDISA AND THE PUBLIC’S VIEW OF THEMBA Themba was irresponsible: ‘Always not there to take He was seen as the man of the Struggle’ responsibility’ (pg 3). (pg 5). Themba was a troublemaker: ‘He caused a lot of He was popular amongst the ladies : ‘Oh, trouble for everyone and . . .for himself’ (pg 7). that was a man!’ (pg 5). Themba was well – liked by all: ‘Everybody was close Everyone remembers him for having the to Themba’ (pg 7). ‘gift of the gab’ (pg 22). Themba acted spitefully towards him: ‘He took the He was loyal to South Africa: He always [wire bus] because it was mine’ (pg 13). reminded us of the needs of “home”, South Africa (pg 22). Themba was the favourite: ‘My father openly favoured He was an adventurer with a positive Themba ..’(pg 37). outlook on life. He believed that one should ‘travel ... expand [one’s] horizons ...see that the world is a beautiful place’ (pg 48). Themba was sophiscated and street-wise. Themba Themba was a true hero of the Struggle: said that Sipho’s future wife was not suited to Sipho : ‘Everybody says if he had stayed the police ‘Themba knew those things’. (pg 41). would have killed him’. (pg 54). Themba was hypocritical : ‘A political activist who never threw a stone at the police, who never blew up any police station ... Called for consumer boycotts when he knew who bought the food he ate’ (pg 55).
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Themba was a great speaker: ‘Themba could talk’ (pg 53). But he could not follow through with action: ‘ Themba was good at making people believe in him’ (pg 55). Themba was a womaniser: ‘There was not a single woman who had not slept with Comrade Themba’ (pg 53). Themba was opportunistic: ‘He got what he wanted from the Struggle – money, women and fame’ (pg 54). Themba was selfish: ‘He took everything (pg 56). Themba was a popular, yet serious activist. ‘He was a political activist. Everyone loved him. It was always Themba this, Comrade Themba that’ (pg. 64).
THANDO :
➢ Interpreter at Truth and Reconciliation Commission – she is a tool for the truth to be told. ➢ Represents the children of those that stayed behind – those that are living in the post-apartheid South Africa. ➢ Understands that we need to hear the truth and forgive in order to rebuild the society. ➢ Traditional
MANDISA:
➢ Fashion designer – moves and changes with the trend and takes ideas from various cultures and sources to create something new. ➢ Grew up in London – modern values and ideals ➢ Sees the events in the country from the outside. ➢ Believes that the perpetrators should be punished and revenge taken. ➢ Themba’s daughter and now, Siphos’s daughter ( after Themba’s death ).
It is possibly appropriate to look the character of Thando and Mandisa simultaneously. They were after all, both called ‘African Princess’. They are in many instances similar and in many instances different. THANDO MANDISA Clothing No information is given about Thando’s Mandisa is described as being clothing but we can assume that it is well-dressed, typical of someone fairly conservative in contrast to who grew up in London. She is Mandisa’s, given that she is a teacher. image-conscious and fashionable.
Vocation Thando is a teacher, and is working as Mandisa is a fashion designer. an interpreter at the TRC hearings. One This reinforces the idea that outer can assume that she is a woman with a appearances are important to her social conscience and wants to make a and that she is sophisticated. She meaningful contribution to society. is an ambitious career woman: ‘I might get an offer from one of the big fashion houses’ (pg. 29)
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Relationship with Thando is the epitome of the dutiful Having being brought up in older generation daughter. She initially rejects Mandisa’s England, away from her cultural invitation to Johannesburg as her father roots, Mandisa is different from wouldn’t allow it. She won’t go out to Thando. She is not bothered by dinner unless she has prepared a meal Sipho’s discomfort over the ashes for her father first. She is sensitive to but merely retorts: ‘Oh this is the cultural traditions of her father’s ridiculous. I didn’t come here to generation. She explains the traditions argue about ashes’ (pg17). of mourning to Mandisa, say that her Mandisa challenges Thando when father would expect her to ‘show some she wants to go out for dinner and respect ... as children (pg 23). Her says: ‘You don’t have to do what attitude to her father is respectful and pleases him’ (pg43). Because of subservient. her independence, she could be considered insensitive towards the needs and feelings of the older generation. Other character Thando is loving and caring. She has Mandisa is a very independent traits explained to Mpho that marrying her woman, who can at times, be means accepting her father as part of seen as self-centred. She is very the package: ‘[Sipho] and me or confident and forthright and is nothing’ (pg11). She is deeply sensitive able to express her opinions to the complexities of the Truth and freely’ even when she is in a Reconciliation process and reveals in strange home with people she has her character the spirit of ubuntu: ‘If all just met. When requesting that those who suffered can forgive, then so Thando accompany her to can you. If our president can ask us to Johannesburg, she taunts: work for a better life for all of our ‘Girl! He won’t allow you!’ (pg23). people, so can you’ (pgs 33-34). She is insensitive to the cultural Thando can see beyond the norms of her South African family ‘advantages’ of retribution to the and instead of trying to benefits of building a humane society in understand the problem they have which all can grow. Thando reveals a with cremation, she simply retorts: compassionate nature, whether relating ‘That’s what everybody does in on a personal level to her father or on a England’ (pg. 15). She does not broader level to apartheid atrocities. understand that this is not England. She is pragmatic in her approach to life; she states that her father died two weeks ago and that she has done all the mourning she needs to do (pg23). Now she is more focused on arranging to meet the fashion designer in Johannesburg than on the funeral arrangements. Mandisa views the Truth and Reconciliation process with much cynicism. Her talk of revenge suggests a less compassionate side to her personality than Thando’s. She views the concept of ubuntu as ‘giving in too easily’ (pg. 34). However the play reveals
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that she is much more sensitive than she believes herself to be. She states that she is a ‘tough cookie’ when Thando warns her of the gruelling nature of the hearings, yet returns from them visibly shaken and angry (pg31).
Thando and Mandisa Similarities • Their African heritage seems to be important to both women. They both enjoy being called ‘African Princess’ by their respective fathers. Mandisa says that she is ‘happy to be home’ and speaks of growing up listening to stories about home (pg19). • Thando’s actions and words show her to be protective and supportive of her African heritage. She tells Mandisa to show some respect for [their] traditions’ (pg. 43). • Like Mandisa, Thando is an assertive, independent thinker. This is shown in the debate they have regarding the TRC hearings (pg 34), and when Thando points out that some black people in South Africa are practicing cremation nowadays (pg17). DIALOGUE:
The dialogue is everyday language. Simple, easy to relate to and understand as it is typical of the character.
THEMES:
➢ Family relationships – Sipho and his parents, Sipho and his brother, Sipho and his wife, Sipho and his daughter, Sipho and his niece, Thando and Mandisa ➢ Sibling rivalry / Jealousy – Sipho and Themba ➢ Identity ➢ Forgiveness ➢ Reconciliation ➢ Justice ➢ Amnesty ➢ Freedom ➢ Truth ➢ Victims and responsibility ➢ Exile and return ➢ Loss and redemption ➢ Tradition versus Western Culture
STYLE / GENRE:
The play can be classified as: Post- Apartheid, modern realistic family drama.
➢ Plot and Structure: it develops as the typical well-made play with the unities of time, place and action (which take place over two days – hence, two acts).
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➢ The characters are well rounded, 3-dimensional characters who have past and futures. Their actions thoughts and feelings are logically motivated. ➢ The dialogue is everyday language and the realistic plot is driven by a series of conversations and arguments which reveal the ultimate truth of the situation, the characters and their points of view. ➢ The set is a box set. It’s an exact replica of a typical township house. Furniture is typical and detailed props complete the picture, it is designed to fit into a Proscenium Arch stage. ➢ The subject matter is topical and relevant – family life, TRC, search for truth.
Nothing but the Truth as a well-made play:
➢ Set in the year 2000, the play is written in two acts and takes place in the late afternoon and early evening of two consecutive days. The structure of the play is linear, based on sequential action. There are no flash backs, the past is introduced through stories told in the present. There are no shifts in location. ➢ Thematically and dramatically, the deals with the importance of the past in defining the present. Memories of childhood, tertiary education, the Struggle, and the life of the family are woven into the action and are mechanisms by which a rich textured sense of the lives of the key characters, Sipho andThando, are built up. ➢ The text is crafted along the lines of a well-made play, with the first scene functioning as the exposition and the second scene in Act 1, developing the tension. This is the complication and it remains to identify how the play works in terms of developing towards the climax and resolution of the action. ➢ Act 2 begins with an increased level of tension – Thando is the one who appraises the fact that the familiar routine has been interrupted, ‘That’s strange he’s always here by now’. Add the fact that Sipho returns drunk from the stresses of Mandisa and him not being promoted, and things are clearly developing. ➢ After Thando’s decision to go with Mandisa to Johannesburg, the momentum builds towards a climax. A series of smaller climaxes occur until the argument where Thando threatens to tell the police about Sipho’s plans to burn the library, because she loves him. ➢ Arguably, the resolution begins after the pause and Sipho questioning ‘why?’ The mood and tone switch as Sipho reveal his forgiveness of his brother and his wife. Truth and reconciliation then happen, leading to the kiss on the forehead by Sipho to Mandisa – the final act of reconciliation.
SETTING:
➢ Late 1990s, early 2000s – Post-apartheid era. ➢ 46 Madlala Street, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. ➢ During the turmoil of the Truth and Reconciliation heaings.
SET / STAGING:
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➢ An older, simple four – roomed house (in a box set) ➢ A modest kitchen (stage right) and living room (stage left) ➢ A glimpse into two bedrooms through beaded curtains, leading off the living area (backstage) ➢ realistic props ➢ Proscenium Arch Stage
STAGING as in the 2013 production at The Stable Theatre in Durban:
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH – JOHN KANI (Additional notes)
Themes and Ideas
Modern Realism: • Set • Characters • Plot • Style
Reconciliation:
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• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission • Personal reconciliation • Nation reconciliation • Revenge • Justice
Truth: • What is truth • Protection from the truth • Truth as a stepping stone to reconciliation • Perception and truth (Deception) • Personal history – Knowing the real story
Culture: • Tradition • Culture related to environment • Modernity vs Culture and tradition • The importance of knowing one’s culture in order to form one’s sense of self and identity. • What’s in a name?
Exile: • The view from the outside in comparison to that of the inside • What happens to those left behind • Entitlement • Patriotism
Other points to discuss: • Post-apartheid challenges in the New South Africa • Age and experience • History as told by those who lived it • How does the next generation deal with the legacy of the past?
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PAST PAPERS ON PLAY TEXTS SOPHIATOWN NSC NOVEMBER 2019 QUESTION 3: SOPHIATOWN BY THE JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY Study SOURCE C below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE C
Imagine that you are a director. After reading the quote in SOURCE C, you are inspired to stage scene extracts from Sophiatown for a local school's play festival which will take place in July 2020. 3.1 With reference to Sophiatown, suggest why theatre can be viewed as a 'collaborative (working together) art form'. (4)
3.2 Explain why you think Sophiatown may be a good choice for a schools' play festival. (4)
3.3 List and motivate the performance skills you will require from the actors who audition for the production. (6)
3.4 Select ONE scene in the play. Explain to the actors that you have cast in your production, what the appropriate style of acting will be to perform the scene you have selected. (4)
3.5 Evaluate how any TWO incidents in the play may evoke (cause) different responses depending on different audiences' experiences. (8)
3.6 Suggest to the festival organisers how the performance space may be used creatively to highlight the style of the play. (4)
3.7 Discuss how you would direct the ending of the play to create a 'powerful and memorable' moment for the audience at the festival. Name specific production and performance elements in your answer. (10) TOTAL: 40
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MARKING GUIDELINE
3.1 The following is a guide: 4 Theatre can be viewed as a collaborative art form because: • Theatre makers have collaborated to create this piece of theatre • Theatre is a fusion of different art forms e.g. design, acting, directing, sound, lighting, etc. • The cast works as an ensemble (group) in rehearsal and performance • All artistic elements work together to create a piece of theatre References to Sophiatown may include that: • The play was workshopped Junction Avenue Theatre Company worked together to create the production
3.2 The following is a guide: 4 The play may be a suitable choice for a schools' play festival because: • The performance deals with aspirations of young people, e.g. Ruth and Princess who are looking at expanding their life experiences • It expresses aspirations and desires for a better life, e.g. Mamariti who becomes an entrepreneur by opening a shebeen • It educates its audiences about our painful past, e.g. forced removals Issues are relevant and topical for young people, e.g. gangsterism, domestic violence
3.3 The following is a guide: 6 Skills required include: • Acting – good acting skills required to portray the various characters realistically, e.g. portraying Mingus who is a leader of the American gang • Strong vocal clarity and audibility to keep the audience engaged at all times • Relaxed physical presence to perform so that tension does not inhibit performance effectiveness • Performance energy and focus needed at all times to draw the audience into the action • Versatility and ease of movement as actors move around the stage space and set, e.g. Mingus moving his 'stolen' goods to Mamariti's house Singing and dancing to convey the mood and atmosphere, e.g. when Ruth brought spirits from Yeoville, the cast celebrate in song and dance
3.4 The following is a guide: 4 Style of acting could include: • Brechtian, e.g. Jakes directly addressing the audience as narrator • Musical elements • Singing because the characters often break out into song at important moments of the play, e.g. the final scene of the play when they are forcefully removed
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• Dancing is a powerful means to communicate the message of the play through dynamic visual imagery • Dancing keeps the audience engaged because it is used as a variation from the dialogue and communicates mood and atmosphere
Reference to the scene should include: • A description of the scene • An indication of the characters in the scene • Clarity of the events portrayed in the scene
3.5 The following is a guide: 8 Incidents could include: • Mingus asking Jakes to write a love letter for him • The arrival of Ruth in Sophiatown and the different reactions to her arrival • Mingus' treatment of Princess and women in general • Fahfee trying to teach Ruth Tsotsitaal • The policemen arriving three days earlier to remove the people from their homes forcefully
Audience responses may include: • Embarrassment from a previously advantaged audience who will be reminded of the injustice of apartheid • Laughter at the vernacular jokes from local residents who will identify with it and understand every nuance, e.g. jokes about the policemen in Tsotsitaal • Sympathy from an empathetic audience who will remember what it meant to be forcefully removed from their homes • Mobilization from an audience dissatisfied with the status quo because people are hungry for change • Anger at the lack of change despite the demands for it • 3.6 The following is a guide: 4 Creative space could include: • Any found space e.g. school hall, classroom, prison, theatre foyer, etc. E.g.: An empty car park in Triomf
3.7 The following is a guide: 10 Direction of the ending of the play may include: • Blocking the actors in a manner that conveys the chaos and despair of the forced removals • The creation of tableaux with a spotlight on each character as they deliver their monologues – this will focus the attention of the audience on the character's pain at being forcefully removed from Sophiatown • Singing of appropriate songs that are soulful and will communicate the deep sadness of being forcibly removed from their homes • Lighting effects to highlight the sombre mood and atmosphere, e.g. to highlight the effects of forced removals
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• Sound effects such as the noise of sledge hammers in the background – to show that the demolition of houses has already begun and this will make the scene more painful • The playing of traditional music of this diverse community which may provide the required mood and atmosphere The use of specific performance styles, e.g. Brecht to create a distance between the audience and the actors. This may encourage the audience to remain objective and interrogate the message being conveyed
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NSC NOVEMBER 2018 QUESTION 3: SOPHIATOWN BY THE JUNCTION AVENUE THEATRE COMPANY Study SOURCE C below and answer the questions that follow. SOURCE C
*Roadshow: a group of theatre performers who tour with their play and perform at various venues, often for the purpose of sharing information or educating a community
You and your class have decided to present selected scenes from the play Sophiatown at local schools as part of a road show for Grade 12 learners.
3.1 Suggest a suitable title for your production. Motivate your answer (2)
3.2 Choose a scene from Sophiatown that the group may present. 3.2.1 Briefly explain what happens in the scene you have chosen. (4) 3.2.2 Describe a suitable costume for TWO of the characters in the scene you have chosen in QUESTION 3.2.1. (4) 3.2.3 Advise ONE character in the scene you have chosen on how to prepare for the vocal and physical demands of the role. (6)
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3.3 SOURCE C contains ideas that you may use to advertise your road show. 3.3.1 Evaluate the statement, 'Sophiatown takes you on a journey back in time … or does it?', to show the play's relevance then and now. (6) 3.3.2 Motivate ONE other way you might choose to advertise the road show. (2)
3.4 Justify TWO other theatrical items that you might include in your production to reflect the Sophiatown of the 1950s. (6)
3.5 Refer to the information given in SOURCE C and evaluate how it reflects life in Sophiatown, the place, and Sophiatown, the play. Include the following: • Sociopolitical issues • Themes (10)
TOTAL:40
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MARKING GUIDELINE- NSC 2018
3.1 • One mark for the title 2 • One mark for the motivation 3.2.1 The following is a guide: 4
The arrival of Ruth in Sophiatown:
• Surprises the inhabitants of Mamariti's house as the family was unaware of Jakes' plan • At first causes Lulu and Princess to be unwelcoming towards Ruth, because Ruth is a stranger to them in their home • Creates interest and attraction for Mingus and Jakes as she is of the opposite sex and she is a white girl from Yeoville Introduces someone from 'the outside' to Sophiatown, from the northern suburbs of Johannesburg 3.2.2 The following is a guide: 4
Ruth:
• Could wear a floral dress, flat shoes, a necklace and a summer hat • Is from Yeoville and possibly exposed to the latest Johannesburg fashions Lulu:
Could wear her school uniform consisting of a tunic, white shirt, grey socks and black school shoes 3.2.3 The following is a guide: 6 • Shifts in thought and feeling are reflected authentically through the actors' actions and reactions towards each other through the use of facial expression and gestures • The director should facilitate the actors' understanding of the thoughts and feelings which reflect the characters' relationship at this point in the play and elicit authentic responses from the actors, e.g. Mingus' reaction when Princess decides to pose for a Dutch photographer • The actors should live 'in the moment' and vocal and physical responses could therefore vary from performance to performance but will always be realistic and true Stanislavski's or any other theatre practitioner's method can be provided Before rehearsals: • The actor could read the script to understand how the character behaves, responds and fits into the action of the play Observation and research:
• The actor could do a thorough analysis of the character in the play text • Understand the character's goals and motivations • Do thorough research and observation of the character type
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Physical score of actions:
• Actions and reactions should be realistic to the character in the situation. • Uses physical action (facial expression, gestures and movement) in a natural and believable manner in the creation of the play's life on stage Vocal expression:
• The actor should create the illusion of a real conversation • Guide the actor to understand the thoughts and feelings which are reflected in the actor's vocal responses through tone, pace, rate, volume etc. Beat work:
• Shifts in thought and feeling should be reflected effectively, realistically and believably. • Units and objectives should be reflected in the actor's physical and vocal expression Magic if:
• The actor should play as if he/she is the character and vocal and physical responses could, therefore, vary from performance to performance, • 'Acting is believing' Circles of attention:
• Actor's focus should be on the world of the play and not on the audience Emotional memory:
• Actor can use personal experiences and real emotions Warm-up exercises: • The actor should warm up his or her instrument to be able to deliver on the physical and vocal demands of the role • Vocal warm-ups, e.g. diaphragmatic intercostal breathing, resonance exercises (humming) Physical warm-up exercises could include spinal rolls for flexibility and posture 3.3.1 The following is a guide: 6 Universal relevance: • Sophiatown is as relevant today as it was then, because the themes, issues and characters all represent humanity in its essential timelessness, e.g. prejudice and love relationships • Themes of discrimination, gangsterism, etc. are still prevalent today • The dynamic nature of the production still entertains and educates because it contains singing, dancing, narration, varied colourful characters It is a living newspaper and historical documentary recording events for all time 3.3.2 The following is a guide: 2 The road show could be advertised in the following ways through: • Social media, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp
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• Print media, e.g. newspapers, posters • Word of mouth • Local radio stations, interviews, talk shows, advertisements Motivation: • Using multiple and various media platforms has the potential to reach more people It is cost effective and thereby saves money 3.4 The following is a guide: 6 The following theatrical items might be selected to reflect Sophiatown of the 1950s because they were popular at the time: • Contemporary music because it could be exciting and fun • Various indigenous dance styles which could educate and entertain • Chorus work which could add a dynamic and powerful vocal impact • A capella singing which could bring a truthful and sincere tone to the production • Jazz music which influenced the lifestyle of the place • American dance styles of the time e.g.: swing, jive which were enjoyed in dance halls at the time • The penny-whistle which was a popular and inexpensive musical instrument used at the time Popular songs of the day, e.g. Pata Pata and songs by Miriam Makeba 3.5 The following is a guide: 10 Socio-political issues in an apartheid South Africa: • Inequality is depicted through the restriction of movement of black people • Residents of Sophiatown were not allowed to buy alcohol in Johannesburg because of strict Apartheid laws • Interracial relationships were not allowed e.g. Ruth and Jakes could not be in a relationship because of their different skin colours (Immorality Act) • People were allocated living spaces according to their race (Group Areas Act) because of Apartheid laws which segregated people along racial lines • High rate of unemployment led to the formation of gangs and an increase in crime in order to survive and provide for their families Themes: • Bantu education, as shown through the character of Lulu. It was an inferior system of education aimed at keeping the majority of the population oppressed and repressed • Forced removals: many residents of Sophiatown did not want to move to Meadowlands because they had every right to stay in their own homes. They used placards and written slogans such as 'We Won't Move' to protest • Gangsterism: rival gangs would fight over the control of territories and girls in order to make money to survive and also to protect each other • Overcrowding was seen as normal in Sophiatown because many people were attracted to the place due to its vibrant lifestyle in which different
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cultures mixed freely, interchanging their creativity, musicality, ideas and cultures. • House owners rented out back rooms to as many people as their yards could accommodate to make money Domestic violence as seen through the characters of Mingus and Princess. Mingus physically and verbally abused Princess because he felt entitled to do so since he was providing for her, which shows sexism and patriarchy
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PAST PAPERS ON PLAY TEXT NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH by JOHN KANI NSC NOVEMBER 2019
SECTION C: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: POST-1994–CONTEMPORARY Answer only ONE question in this section. Study SOURCE E below and answer the questions that follow.
Your class recently attended a production of Nothing but the Truth at your local theatre. You received a copy of the theatre programme in SOURCE E.
5.1 Give a definition of the following terms used in the programme: Synopsis (1) Cast (1) Script (1) Director (1)
5.2 Refer to the synopsis in the programme note in SOURCE E. Motivate whether or not you agree with the description of the Makhaya family as 'a family in crisis'. Refer to the characters in your answer (6)
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5.3 Suggest why the play is described as Realism with reference to its costumes and subject matter. (6)
5.4 Explain how any of the actors in the cast might use FOUR techniques of Stanislavski's System/Method to create a 'truthful and sincere' performance. Refer to examples or moments in the play to substantiate your answer (8)
5.5 Evaluate why the set and performance space depicted in the image on the programme are suitable for a production of the play. (6)
5.6 Discuss why Nothing but the Truth is an effective title for the play. Refer to incidents and characters in the play. (10) TOTAL: 40
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MARKING GUIDELINE
5.1 • Synopsis: A summary of the events in the play 4 • Cast: The list of actors in the play • Script: The written version of the play • Director: The person responsible for the overall creative vision of the play 5.2 The following is a guide: 6 The Makhaya family can be described as 'a family in crisis' because Sipho: • Mourns the loss of his brother, Themba • Is angry with his brother and he did not get the opportunity to voice his bitterness about Themba's affair with his (Sipho's) wife • Withholds the truth about Themba's affair with Sindiswa from Thando and Mandisa • Does not understand Mandisa's Western customs e.g. he expects his brother's body; instead Mandisa arrives with his cremated ashes • Did not receive justice for his son's death • Is overlooked for the Chief Librarian's post • Is a single parent whose wife had an affair with his brother
Thando: • Questions and is concerned about Sipho's distress • Misses her mother and questions why Sindiswa has left • Works at the TRC and is deeply affected by the atrocities of the TRC cases • Is a teacher who would love to break away and go to London with Mandisa but is torn because of her dutiful love of her father • Welcomes Mandisa into the home but is concerned by the fact that Mandisa's Western culture is disrespectful of African traditions Mandisa: • Brings the ashes of Themba which shocks Sipho because he expected a body in a coffin • Speaks her mind which is seen as rude and arrogant to Sipho who holds a traditional worldview • Attempts to take Thando away from her father to experience more modern elements of society Challenges Sipho regarding her father's activism because in her eyes her father is a hero
5.3 The following is a guide: 6 Costumes: • Reflect character status, age and economic status • Are realistic to the period e.g. year 2000 Subject matter: • Reflects the socio-political context of the time • Deals with the TRC Reflects real-life issues to which the audience can relate
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5.4 The following is a guide: 8 An actor must to be aware of the following: • Knowledge of the play and plot – given circumstances and subtext • Knowledge of the character, biography, background, motives and objectives • A creative process whereby the actor prepares the character for performance which may include an understanding of the following aspects of Stanislavski's System/method, e.g.: • Action- every action must have purpose • Magic if- difference between pretending and reality. As soon as we live the situation, we respond in a manner that re-enacts real life • Given circumstances- before you make audience believe what they see on stage as real think about all details- when, how, why, what, where • The imagination- believe in character you are portraying on stage to convince audience. Who is my character, how old is my character etc? • Circle of attention-relax and focus on the role; focus on smallest circles (mise en scene) and then slowly expand focus to ever increasing areas. This will enable you to live in the environment on stage. Help you relax. • Units and objective- play can be broken not only into scene but smaller units of actions defined by their own objective. • Super-objective and Through-line of action- SO is the main overall objective of the paly. It is what a character wishes to achieve at the end of the paly. The continuous Train of small action that build towards the main overall objective is called the through-line of objective • Emotion memory- • Tempo- action has specific rhythm, movement and tempo determined by different characters • Rhythm in movement • Physical action-is determined by identifying Candidates may also reference, explain and describe methods and techniques such as e.g. physical score of actions, beat work, vocal expression • Physical score of actions: o Actions and reactions should be realistic o The use of physical action (facial expressions, gestures and movement) in the creation of the play's life on stage Beat work (Units and Super-Objective): o Shifts in thought and feeling should be reflected effectively and realistically o Units and objectives should be reflected in the actor's physical and vocal expression Vocal expression (Given circumstances): o As the play is realistic, the actor should create the illusion of a real conversation
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o The actor should be guided in the understanding of the thoughts and feelings which are reflected in vocal responses through tone, pace, rate, volume, etc. Magic if: o The actor should live as if he/she is the character and vocal and physical responses could, therefore, vary from performance to performance, but will always be realistic o 'Acting is believing' Circles of attention: o The actor's focus should be on the world of the play and not on the audience Emotional memory: o The actor can draw on personal experiences to tap into the emotional reality in performance Warm-Up Exercises: o The actor should warm up his or her instrument in order to be able to deliver on the physical and vocal demands of the role o Vocal warm ups, e.g. Diaphragmatic Intercostal Breathing, resonance exercises ( humming) Physical warm-up exercises could include spinal rolls for flexibility and posture 5.5 The following is a guide: 6 Performance space: • Provides an appropriate environment/context for the action • Reflects the time period and setting of the play • Creates areas through which actors can move around, in a small house The set is suitable because: • It is realistic and depicts the type of home the Makhaya family would live in • It contains bead curtains which suggest bedrooms off stage and give the home a traditional feel • There is attention to detail, e.g. books in the bookshelf, family photographs, urn containing Themba's ashes
5.6 The following is a guide: 10
The title is effective because: • The play is set in the genre of Realism in theatre and deals with the truth of life • The plot reveals the truth previously kept as a secret • There is reference to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which plays a vital contextual and thematic role in the play • Various cases from the TRC are referenced as part of the context • The plot's development is a series of revelations of truths which leads to the final climax of the play and its resolution
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Some examples to elaborate on: • The entire Makhaya family must face the truth of Themba's exile. The truth is that he was not in exile as political struggle hero but because he had an affair with Sipho’s wife Sindiswa. He fled the country after he was caught out. • Sindiswa's affair with Themba • Details of Luvuyo’s death is not fully disclosed. Sipho wants police to find the killers and to be brought to justice • Sipho's lost opportunities as a lawyer, in education, as a chief librarian, etc. • Sipho reveals the truth through telling the story of his past and how Themba denied him of an opportunity for an education and possible career as a lawyer. • The play mirrors the TRC process because it also requires the revelation of the truth • It refers to oath taken in a court of law where one swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
TOTAL 40
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NSC NOVEMBER 2018
SECTION C: SOUTH AFRICAN THEATRE: POST-1994–CONTEMPORARY Answer only ONE question in this section. Study SOURCE E below and answer the questions that follow.
Read the front page of the local newspaper, The Daily Mirror, which relates to Nothing But The Truth and answer the questions that follow.
5.1 5.1.1 What does the abbreviation TRC stand for? 1 5.1.2 Identify the character in Nothing But The Truth who works at the TRC. 1 5.1.3 Explain the meaning of the term amnesty. 2 5.1.4 Suggest why the name of the newspaper is suitable for this play. 3
5.2 Give an example in the play text of a TRC case. 2
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5.3 Based on your understanding of the characters and situations in the play, would 4 you consider making Nothing But The Truth a short TV series? Give reasons for your answer.
5.4 Explain why Sipho Makhaya is shocked and angry that his late brother, Themba, 3 has been cremated.
5.5 Describe the system/method an actor playing Sipho might use to prepare for the 6 emotional demands of his role.
5.6 Evaluate how Nothing But The Truth reflects both Western and African 6 cultures.
5.7 Discuss how SOURCE E reflects the sociopolitical context, subject matter and 12 themes of the play.
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MARKING GUIDELINE- NSC 2018
5.1 5.1.1 Truth and Reconciliation Commission 1
5.1.2 Thando Makhaya 1
5.1.3 The following is a guide: 2 Amnesty: • Is the pardoning of offences • Is granted to perpetrators who disclose all their deeds • Allows the perpetrator to go free once granted amnesty
5.1.4 The following is a guide: 3 The Daily Mirror is a suitable title because: • It reflects daily life and the lives of the Makhaya family • 'Daily' would reflect day to day events • Realism in the theatre holds up a 'mirror' to life • It helps us look at real issues
5.2 The following is a guide: 2
TRC cases mentioned in the play, e.g.:
• Craig Williamson case • Chris Hani case • Ruth First case The Cradock Four case 5.3 The following is a guide: 4 The play would make a good short TV series because it contains elements of: • Romance • Love • Illicit affairs amongst family members • Death • Intrigue • Sensationalism • Suspense • Secrets and lies finally revealed Characters: • Hide secrets (Sipho) • Are flamboyant (Mandisa) • Have affairs (Themba) • Get drunk (Sipho) • Are morally upright (Thando) • Are dramatic in their outbursts (Sipho saying he will blow up the library)
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Situations: • Are sensational (illicit affair of Themba) • Are tense (awaiting the arrival of Themba's body) • Are scandalous (Thando might be Themba's child) • Reflect conflict in the family (brother against brother, etc.) The play would not make a good soap opera because it deals with: • Sensitive issues concerning real people • The atrocities of apartheid and the effects of these on ordinary people and the daily struggles that people face in order to survive Characters: • Live ordinary everyday lives • Represent the common man • Deal with sensitive issues which are painful and real Situations reflect: • Ordinary, everyday situations that everyone faces Normal sibling rivalry/conflict in the family (brother against brother) 5.4 The following is a guide: 3 Sipho is shocked and angry because: • The custom of cremation is against his traditional beliefs about burial as the African system of burial involves a coffin and a body • He expected to fetch a body in a coffin at the airport and was surprised to find out that there would be no body to bury • He is angry with his family in London for not informing him and feels that his wishes have not been heard or considered He has spent much time and effort to prepare and arrange the funeral 5.5 The following is a guide: 6 The candidate could reflect an understanding of the following aspects of Stanislavski's System, e.g.: Physical score of actions: • Actions and reactions should be realistic to the character • Uses physical action (facial expression, gestures and movement) in a natural and believable manner in the creation of the play's life on stage
Beat work: • Shifts in thought and feeling should be reflected effectively, realistically and believably • Units and objectives should be reflected in the actor's physical and vocal expression Vocal expression: • As the play is realistic, the actor should create the illusion of a real conversation
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• Thoughts and feelings must be analysed en understood to be reflected in the actor's tone, pace, rate, volume, etc. Magic if: • The actor should live as if he/she is the character and vocal and physical responses could, therefore, vary from performance to performance, but will always be authentic and truthful • 'Acting is believing' Circles of attention: • Actor's focus should be on the world of the play and not on the audience Emotional memory: • Actor can draw on personal experiences to tap into emotional reality in performance Warm-Up Exercises: • The actor should warm up his or her instrument in order to be able to deliver on the physical and vocal demands of the role • Vocal warm ups, e.g. diaphragmatic intercostal breathing, resonance exercises (humming) Physical warm-up exercises could include spinal rolls for flexibility and posture 5.6 The following is a guide: 6 African and Western cultural traditions and practices are shown through: • Belief systems regarding funerals, e.g. African funerals involve the paying of respect to the deceased's body in an open coffin and respecting this body even when buried as the ancestors (the dead) are evoked in ceremonies and rituals after they are dead and buried • Marriage customs of ilobolo/ makgadi and Western marriage rituals are mentioned in Thando and Mandisa's conversations about boyfriends. Whereas Mandisa has many boyfriends of different cultural backgrounds (e.g. Derek Loxworth), Thando's relationship with Mpho is longstanding and she is engaged to him and will marry him according to traditional custom • The relationships differ between parents and children, seen in Mandisa's disrespect towards her elders, shown in the way in which she speaks to Sipho and Thando's respectful responses to Sipho • The African traditional dress is seen in Nandipa's designs. Thando has a dress designed by Nandipha Kalana and this is different from Western design, which interests Mandisa as a fashion design student from London 5.7 The following is a guide: 12 Candidates may focus on different aspects of the newspaper stimulus in Source G to answer the questions around sociopolitical context, subject matter and themes of the play. Award marks for a well-integrated, creative response to the question, which refers to Nothing But The Truth. Socio-political context:
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• The TRC was a significant influence on the socio-political environment of South Africa as it re-looked at the atrocities of the past and processed these in a way in which social transformation and healing was possible through the revelation of truth, personal stories and forgiveness/amnesty • This play is Theatre for Reconciliation and its plot and themes reflect the essence of the TRC • New South African democracy and freedoms created a new social, political, personal and psychological space in which to live Subject matter: • The plot of the play deals with loss, love, exile and sibling rivalry between Sipho and Themba Makhaya as Themba 'stole' much from Sipho: his wire bus, blazer, wife, education etc. • Western vs. African traditions are reflected in the statement and article about ‘Ashes to Ashes' as African funerals did not include cremation Themes: • Sibling rivalry is seen through Themba and Sipho and their conflict revealed though Sipho's disclosure of secrets and truths of the past • Love is reflected in the name of Sipho's daughter Thando, Sipho's love of Themba, Sindiswa and Thando and the love of family and also of one another, which is the antidote to racism, prejudice, hatred and bitterness • Loss is reflected in loss of a brother through exile and death, loss of human rights and dignity in an apartheid South Africa and the regaining of and restoration of dignity and humanity, family and country through the process of reconciliation All aspects of the Daily Mirror are acceptable in this answer.
THE END
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