THE WHITENESS OF SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH RADIO DRAMA: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY OF THE RISE, DECLINE AND DEMISE OF A DRAMATIC SUB-GENRE by MARGARET ELAINE LOGAN submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject THEORY OF LITERATURE at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF MARISA KEURIS NOVEMBER 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to express her appreciation to the following for their contribution to the formulation, execution and presentation of this study: Prof. Marisa Keuris, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Theory of Literature, UNISA, Pretoria, for her encouragement, guidance and support. Her interest in radio drama, expressed at an early stage in my studies at UNISA, has been a source of inspiration for me: Retha Roux of the SABC Sound Archives, Johannesburg, for the provision of invaluable information, and her unfailingly prompt response to my many queries: Former radio drama practitioners, friends and former colleagues, who completed my questionnaires or gave interviews, most notably Nigel Vermaas, Jack Mullen and Bev Peirce, whose valuable insights, opinions and recollections form such an important contribution to this work: Old Time Radio experts and archivists Frans Erasmus and Kevan Mardon, for their readiness to share their expertise, including recordings and magazine articles: Claire Welch, Technical Support Executive of the South African Advertising Foundation, for her helpful assistance, and the provision of radio audience statistics: My husband and children for their patience and encouragement. ii ABSTRACT An exposition of South African English radio drama tracing the historical, cultural and political issues which led to the demise of the art form in 1999, and its resurrection at ICASA’s insistence in 2006. The research demonstrates the ideological influences of both British Imperialism and Afrikaner Nationalism on the development of South African radio drama, drawing parallels between the development of Afrikaans radio drama, Zulu radio drama and English radio drama. The study also deconstructs the role played by English language radio drama in underpinning the ideologies of whiteness, and illustrates attempts made towards transformation from 1985. The recent development of an essentially South African form of radio drama is described, and the effects of new ideological constraints imposed by the SABC are discussed. The study also provides a critical lens through which the SABC’s failure to observe its public service mandate is made evident. Title of dissertation THE WHITENESS OF SOUTH AFRICAN ENGLISH RADIO DRAMA: A POSTCOLONIAL STUDY OF THE RISE, DECLINE AND DEMISE OF A DRAMATIC SUB-GENRE. Key terms South African English radio drama, Afrikaans radio drama, Zulu radio drama, ideologies, British Imperialism, Afrikaner Nationalist ideology, African Nationalist ideology, apartheid, whiteness studies, white supremacy, South African Broadcasting Corporation, demise of an art form, postcolonial, transformation. iii CONTENTS Page Number Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Title of the Study 1 1.2 Aim of the Study 1 1.3 The Central Problem 2 1.4 The Research Hypotheses 3 1.4.1 Hypothesis 1 3 1.4.2 Hypothesis 2 4 1.4.3 Hypothesis 3 5 1.4.4 Hypothesis 4 5 1.5 Overview of research and methodology 6 1.5.1 Overview of research 6 1.5.2 Methodology 11 1.6 Structure of study 13 Chapter 2 23 2.1 Radio drama: the need for research 23 2.2 Whiteness Studies 26 2.3 The need for postcolonial research in whiteness 31 Chapter 3: Early developments in South African Broadcasting 37 Introduction 37 3.1 Historical/ideological background 38 iv CONTENTS Page Number 3.2 Events prior to the first broadcast 41 3.3 Introduction of regional broadcasting stations 42 3.4 National broadcasting under the ABC 44 3.5 The formation of the SABC 45 Chapter 4: South African radio drama 49 Introduction 49 4.1 Early external influences on South African radio drama 51 4.2 The regional stations era: 1924-1927 52 4.2.1 English radio drama 56 4.2.2 Afrikaans radio drama 58 4.2.3 Zulu radio drama 58 4.3 The ABC era: 1927-1936 59 4.3.1 English radio drama 62 4.3.2 Afrikaans radio drama 64 4.3.3 Zulu radio drama 66 4.4 The English Service or “A” programme (1936-1986) and Afrikaans “B” programme (1937-1986) era 66 4.4.1 English radio drama 73 4.4.2 Afrikaans radio drama 82 4.4.3 Zulu radio drama 89 v CONTENTS Page Number 4.5 The Springbok Radio era: 1950-1985 100 4.5.1 Springbok Radio drama 112 Radio South Africa (1986-1995) and Radio Suid Afrika/ Afrikaans Stereo era (1986-1996) 140 4.6.1 English radio drama 144 4.6.2 Afrikaans radio drama 149 4.7 The SAfm (1995-)/RSG (1996-) era 151 4.7.1 Afrikaans radio drama 170 4.7.2 English radio drama 187 Chapter 5 216 Conclusion 216 Bibliography 224 Appendix 1 250 Appendix 2 273 vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 TITLE OF THE STUDY The Whiteness of South African English Radio Drama: a postcolonial study of the rise, decline and demise of a dramatic sub-genre. 1.2 AIM OF THE STUDY The South African Broadcasting Corporation’s decision to terminate the production and broadcast of all English radio drama in April 1999 not only signified the end of an era, but the apparent demise of this art form in one South African language only. However, radio drama in English was re-introduced on SAfm in April 2006, in compliance with licensing regulations stipulated by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). A distinction should be drawn at this early point between the “old” and “new” forms of South African English radio drama1: that is, between the “old” radio drama, deeply rooted in British colonial culture and imperial ideology, and later confined within a white space by apartheid’s supremacist ideology, and the “new”, truly postcolonial radio plays and serials currently broadcast, which aim to attract a wider audience of both first and second-language English speakers. The research that follows, begun and partly conducted during the seven-year interregnum imposed on English radio drama, seeks to deconstruct the role played by the original art form in underpinning the ideologies of whiteness, and provide a greater understanding of the historical, cultural and political issues that contributed to the demise of SAE radio drama. In tracing the influence of British colonialism and apartheid on the formation and development of English radio drama in South Africa, it also attempts to explicate the relative ease with which ideology may infect an art 1 Future references to the “old”, traditional form of South African English radio drama will be abbreviated to “SAE radio drama”. 1 form, with potentially fatal results. Attention is finally given to the new, essentially South African form of English radio drama, introduced on SAfm in 2006. The possibility that the development of this promising new form may also be affected by ideological constraints imposed by the SABC is also considered. 1.3 THE CENTRAL PROBLEM The critical question initially raised within the ambit of this study is as follows: What factors led to the decline and demise in 1999 of South African radio drama in one language only? There is no single “real reason” for the cessation of South African English radio drama in 1999. The management of SAfm issued statements to the media, citing a decline in listenership to radio drama, and the relatively high cost of production as reasons for the closure, but neither explanation seemed convincing. SAE radio drama practitioners and listeners, who generally regarded the closure of the English radio drama department on SAfm as an error of judgment, questioned the motivation behind this apparent act of discrimination against an art form in one language only. It was argued that the advent of television had steadily eroded radio drama listenership ratings on both SAfm and Radio Sonder Grense2. Moreover, production costs of drama for both stations were similar, if not identical, yet listeners to Afrikaans radio drama continued to enjoy this form of entertainment on a regular, if reduced, basis. Why, it was asked, when English is commonly accepted as the lingua franca of South Africa, had radio drama on SAfm been abandoned, while its counterpart in Afrikaans, regarded by many as “the language of the oppressor”, had survived? Moreover, once the political climate at the SABC eased in the late nineteen eighties, the SAE drama department had eagerly, even joyously, grasped the opportunity of producing original South African plays by authors such as Athol Fugard, and expressly focused on discovering, encouraging and producing work that reflected the reality, past and present, of all South Africans. Given the rapidly changing demographic profile of SAfm, it was seen as ironical that the “new order” at the SABC had destroyed, rather than embraced, this attempt to develop a uniquely South African form of English radio drama. ICASA’s insistence on the re-introduction 2 Radio without borders. 2 of radio drama on SAfm in 2006, in order to comply with licensing regulations, may be seen as a vindication of the many criticisms voiced following the closure in 1999. The difficult task of this study is to chart the development of a complex chain of historical events, ideologies, and attitudes, some peculiar to the culture and identity of first-language English-speaking listeners, which led to the cessation of SAE radio drama on SAfm in April 1999. Consideration will also be given to the adverse effect of decisions made by the public broadcaster which affected issues such as the closure of Springbok Radio in 1979, the relegation of radio drama to off-peak listening times, and the contribution made by private recording studios in producing serials, comedy shows and plays for broadcast 1.4 THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESES: The following hypotheses emerged during the research process: 1.4.1 SAE radio drama has been adversely affected by powerful political ideologies: It would be difficult, if not impossible, to identify the number of ideologies that influence an art form such as radio drama, in which the creative and technical processes involve a variety of individuals from different backgrounds, each contributing different skills.