Difference between revisions of "Bergville Stories"
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
Deals with an incident that took place in 1956 when a group of policemen clashed with men in a rural black community in Natal. The policemen went to some dagga [marijuana] plantations near the village of Bergville to burn the crops, a source of (illegal) income for the villagers. A violent skirmish resulted in the death of five policemen and a number of the villagers. More than twenty men from the community were arrested, tried and hanged in Pretoria Central Prison. In his production Ka Ndlovu linked these historical events theatrically as a narrative device to the plight of hostel dwellers in Gauteng four decades later, the time of the production, and he staged it through riveting narrative, combined with stirring songs and vigorous dance routines. | Deals with an incident that took place in 1956 when a group of policemen clashed with men in a rural black community in Natal. The policemen went to some dagga [marijuana] plantations near the village of Bergville to burn the crops, a source of (illegal) income for the villagers. A violent skirmish resulted in the death of five policemen and a number of the villagers. More than twenty men from the community were arrested, tried and hanged in Pretoria Central Prison. In his production Ka Ndlovu linked these historical events theatrically as a narrative device to the plight of hostel dwellers in Gauteng four decades later, the time of the production, and he staged it through riveting narrative, combined with stirring songs and vigorous dance routines. | ||
| + | |||
== Performance history in South Africa == | == Performance history in South Africa == | ||
Revision as of 08:43, 24 February 2014
A play by Duma ka Ndlovu, premièred in 1995, staged by the playwright.
Deals with an incident that took place in 1956 when a group of policemen clashed with men in a rural black community in Natal. The policemen went to some dagga [marijuana] plantations near the village of Bergville to burn the crops, a source of (illegal) income for the villagers. A violent skirmish resulted in the death of five policemen and a number of the villagers. More than twenty men from the community were arrested, tried and hanged in Pretoria Central Prison. In his production Ka Ndlovu linked these historical events theatrically as a narrative device to the plight of hostel dwellers in Gauteng four decades later, the time of the production, and he staged it through riveting narrative, combined with stirring songs and vigorous dance routines.
Performance history in South Africa
Translations and adaptations
Sources
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to ESAT Templates
Return to B in Plays I Original SA Plays
Return to B in Plays II Foreign Plays
Return to B in Plays III Collections
Return to B in Plays IV: Festivals and Pageants
Return to South_African_Theatre/Plays
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page
