Gladys Thomas

Gladys Thomas (19*-) Poet and playwright.

Biography

Born and grew up in the Cape Flats, in Cape Town.

Her poetry has been published in Cry Rage! (with James Matthews – SPROCAS, 1972, banned by the Apartheid authorities ) and her children’s poetry in Spotty Dog (Skotaville, 1989). *

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

In May of 1974, two plays - Now we are not alone anymore and David and Diana - were performed in a programme called From the townships 1.

In 1992 Avalon Court: Dramatic Scenes on the Cape Flats won the 1990 Betrams V.O. Literary Award and was published by Skotaville Publishers

In 1991 The Time is Now, her localized adaptation of Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odetts, was performed at a mini-festival linked to a Theatre Action Group (Cape Town) seminar in 1991, directed by Albert Thomas.

In 2000 Albert Thomas and Gladys Thomas, were received a medal from the Cape Tercentenary Foundation for their contribution to cultural work in the community, 2000.

Sources

Various entries in the NELM catalogue, including a programme for From the townships 1: two plays by Gladys Thomas: Now we are not alone anymore and David and Diana, with reviews of the plays from the Cape Times of 17.5.1974, The Argus of 21.5.1974 and The Fish Hoek Echo of June 1974

The Star, 8 Oct 1991

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