A collective of young playwrights have taken it upon themselves to promote contemporary South African storytelling and activism on the stage, writes Kgomotso Moncho-Maripane.
In an in-depth interview in 2010 on British site theatreVOICE Athol Fugard said: “The truth is that the new South Africa needs committed playwrights who are prepared to bear witness to what is going on every bit as urgently as the old ones did. The essential responsibility lies with young playwrights and I’m not sure I can see them rising to that challenge.”
In 2013, after completing a residency in London through the Royal Court New Writing Programme, a collective of 11 young South African playwrights called Playriots decided to take up the baton and promote contemporary storytelling and create a space for playwrights “to be activists and write urgent work” as outlined in their mission statement. Amy Jephta is one of the 11 young South African playwrights – see photo above (David Harrison, M&G.)
One of their main objectives is to create a culture of staged play readings, something they picked up from their Royal Court experience. The aim is to offer playwrights support and space for development, to create conversations that go beyond the rehearsal room and to develop and empower audiences.
But there are other issues regarding local theatre practice that they wish to challenge.
A call for young female playwrights
Poet, playwright and director, Napo Masheane advocates for more black female theatre practitioners. Her new play, A New Song, juxtaposes the role of women in the struggle, specifically the voices of women in the anti-pass book campaign of the 1950s, with the role of women in today’s society.
“For the past years the theatre industry has been dominated by white theatre practitioners and black men. Black women playwrights spend more time fighting to be heard than actually creating and putting our stories on stage. This has to be challenged,” says Masheane.
Amy Jephta calls for more writing by young women. Her play, All Who Pass, traces a family’s journey of getting back their plot of land in District Six, where her family’s roots are.
“The voices of young women writers are underrated and largely silent. One of the biggest challenges to women playwrights is the lack of new play publication.
“All playwrights struggle with publication, but in the past five years, only two or three female playwrights in this country have had their texts published in comparison to over a dozen male playwrights,” she says.
The Women Playwrights International has convened conferences for female playwrights since 1988, and Jephta is organising the 2015 conference that will take place in Cape Town from June 29 to July 3. This will mark the organisation’s first convention in Africa.
