Behind Closed Doors

A song-and-dance drama by Phyllis Klotz (1999).

See: Huis Clos (also translated as "Behind Closed Doors").

Subject

The focus is on the unbelievably high incidence of rape, possibly the most extreme form of woman and child abuse in the new South Africa. The play features six black female characters, victims of abuse and rape, who each plays various roles, including male characters.

Première production

First staged in various educational venues around Norway in 1999, directed by Phyllis Klotz, with Thabang Masupha, Noluthando Boqwana, Ntombi Maphosa, Linda Mahlangu, Zanele Nkala and Thabile Ngwenya, members of The Sibikwa Players (professional performance arm of the Sibikwa Community Theatre Project in Benoni, Gauteng), invited to Norway and sponsored by the Norwegian project Operations Dagsverk (Operation Day's Work).

Performance history in South Africa

Premièred in South Africa on the Fringe at the Grahamstown Festival in 2000, directed by Phyllis Klotz with an all-female cast, members of The Sibikwa Players, calling themselves "The Sibikwa Sisters". Klotz also directed a production with The Sibikwa Players that was staged in August 2001 at the South African Women’s Arts Festival presented by the Playhouse Company in Durban. It was also staged in the Baxter Theatre in February 2002 as part of the Cape Town Festival.

Sources

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