Difference between revisions of "Sol Rachilo"
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Born in Pietermaritzburg where his mother was a domestic worker but spent most of his life in Soweto. | Born in Pietermaritzburg where his mother was a domestic worker but spent most of his life in Soweto. | ||
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| + | He began working as a performer in the 1950s, becoming one of the most revered performers and theatre makers of his generation. In the 1970s he also had a stint as a social worker, before leaving the job after the 1976 uprising, in order to found and run the [[Children of Soweto Action Centre Drama Academy]], using the various art forms (music, fine art, photography and drama) to help young people traumatized by the turbulence of the time. | ||
Died on 16 August 2026. | Died on 16 August 2026. | ||
Revision as of 10:16, 20 August 2026
Sol Rachilo (pseud. Solrah, 1929-2026) was an actor, playwright, poet and drama teacher.
Contents
Biography
Born in Pietermaritzburg where his mother was a domestic worker but spent most of his life in Soweto.
He began working as a performer in the 1950s, becoming one of the most revered performers and theatre makers of his generation. In the 1970s he also had a stint as a social worker, before leaving the job after the 1976 uprising, in order to found and run the Children of Soweto Action Centre Drama Academy, using the various art forms (music, fine art, photography and drama) to help young people traumatized by the turbulence of the time.
Died on 16 August 2026.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
A veteran performer from Union Artists. At Dorkay House he worked with Zakes Mokae, Bess Finney, Ricky Arden, Norah Taylor and Cecil Williams.
He made his professional stage debut in No-Good Friday in 1958. He was one of the actors in the cast of Sponono in 1962.
Helped shape and acted in Maishe Maponya’s Gangsters (1984), playing “Jonathan”. ***
He starred in the film Game for Vultures and in the SABC 1 drama series Lisenethini (It’s in the net} as Capone.
He wrote The Township Housewife (1972) and Grounded in Mshenguville (1989).
Awards
Sources
Sunday Independent 20 September 1998.
Andile Xaba. 2021. 'Collective memory and the construction of a historical narrative, analysis and interpretation of selected Soweto-based community plays (1984–1994)'. Unpublished PhD thesis.
Constance Gaanakgomo. "‘A living archive’: South Africa mourns actor, playwright and poet Sol Rachilo", News24[1]
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