Bergville Stories
A play by Duma ka Ndlovu, premièred in 1995 at the Playhouse in Durban, 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
A production of Bergville Stories formed part of the Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture’s celebration of a decade of democracy at the Newtown Arts Festival in April 2004.
This event is intertwined with another real life drama when the local community barricaded residents of Merafe Hostel in Soweto inside the hostel for eight weeks. Ndlovu weaves these two tales, introducing an interesting element of African folktale into the tale.
Bergville Stories opened at The Playhouse in Durban in May 1996. It was also performed at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York as part of the Woza Afrika Festival. Ndlovu is now restaging the play to celebrate a decade of democracy. The cast of 10 includes Mduduzi Nombela, Skhumbuzo Mabizela, Mthandeni Mvelase and Mazwe Mhlongo.
Says Ndlovu: “I hope that the people who see the play today, will remember what we went through as various communities, and recommit themselves to the peace and stability that has been restored, and vow never to go back there again, because the wars were not worth it.”
Bergville Stories plays from April 8 to 18 at 20h00 in the Barney Simon Theatre at The Market. Book at the door or at Computicket.
Translations and adaptations
Sources
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