Difference between revisions of "Benjamin Leshoai"

From ESAT
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 4: Line 4:
  
 
== Biography ==
 
== Biography ==
Born in Bloemfontein and educated at [[University of Fort Hare]] and the University of Illinois, Leshoai left South Africa to teach in Zambia and Tanzania, and later became Professor of Literature at the [[University of Bophuthatswana]].
+
Born in Bloemfontein and educated at [[University of Fort Hare]] (majoring in English and Native Administration) and the University of Illinois (MA in Theatre Arts and Speech).
 +
 
 +
For a while, he was Principal at Lady Selborne High School. Later he became manager of [[Union Artists]] at [[Dorkay House]].
 +
 
 +
Leshoai left South Africa in 1963 to teach in Zambia (Head of English at Mufulira Teachers' College) and in Tanzania (from 1968, as Associate Professor and Head of Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Dar-Es-Salaam). In 1974, he became Professor of Literature at the [[University of Bophuthatswana]].
  
 
==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
 
==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
 +
 +
In 1964, Leshoai spent a month at the Cort Theatre on Broadway with the [[Alan Paton]]/[[Krishna Shah]] production of ''[[Sponono]]''.
 +
 
He wrote a number of plays, some of which were published, others banned. His one-act play ''[[Revolution]]'' (1972) for example was one of the first to advocate violence as a viable course of action for blacks, although his other one-act plays  are concerned more with social themes.  
 
He wrote a number of plays, some of which were published, others banned. His one-act play ''[[Revolution]]'' (1972) for example was one of the first to advocate violence as a viable course of action for blacks, although his other one-act plays  are concerned more with social themes.  
  
Line 31: Line 38:
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
 
(See [[Sydney Paul Gosher|Gosher]], 1988)
 
(See [[Sydney Paul Gosher|Gosher]], 1988)
 +
 +
''[[Contemporary South African Plays]]'' (edited by [[Ernest Pereira]], published by [[Ravan Press]]) in 1977.
  
 
Various entries in the [[NELM]] catalogue.
 
Various entries in the [[NELM]] catalogue.
 
  
 
== Return to ==
 
== Return to ==

Latest revision as of 08:47, 16 October 2023

Benjamin Letholoa Leshoai (1920-). Journalist, novelist, playwright.

Also known as Bob Leshoai.

Biography

Born in Bloemfontein and educated at University of Fort Hare (majoring in English and Native Administration) and the University of Illinois (MA in Theatre Arts and Speech).

For a while, he was Principal at Lady Selborne High School. Later he became manager of Union Artists at Dorkay House.

Leshoai left South Africa in 1963 to teach in Zambia (Head of English at Mufulira Teachers' College) and in Tanzania (from 1968, as Associate Professor and Head of Department of Theatre Arts at the University of Dar-Es-Salaam). In 1974, he became Professor of Literature at the University of Bophuthatswana.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

In 1964, Leshoai spent a month at the Cort Theatre on Broadway with the Alan Paton/Krishna Shah production of Sponono.

He wrote a number of plays, some of which were published, others banned. His one-act play Revolution (1972) for example was one of the first to advocate violence as a viable course of action for blacks, although his other one-act plays are concerned more with social themes.

Plays:

The Wake (one-act play, 1964)

Lines Draw Monsters (full-length play, written 1965, first performed by FUBA drama students under the direction of Sisho Maphisa at the Market Theatre in 1982).

The Weather Forecast (one-act play, 1971)

The Rendezvous (one-act play, 1972)

The Rightful Chief (one-act play)

Revolution (one-act play, 1972)

Morati of Bataung (full-length play, written for AMDA, 19**)

The Wrath of the Ancestors

A collection of his plays was published in 1971 under the title The Wrath of the Ancestors and Other Plays (Nairobi: East Africa Publishing House).

Sources

(See Gosher, 1988)

Contemporary South African Plays (edited by Ernest Pereira, published by Ravan Press) in 1977.

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

Return to

Return to ESAT Personalities L

Return to South African Theatre Personalities

Return to Main Page