Ababhemi

Ababhemi is a one-act play by Darlington Michaels (?-).

The original text

The play follows a young protagonist who was born in the Free State in socially depressed circumstances. His mother dies when the boy turns six and being fatherless and feeling unloved living with “strict” extended family, he flees and fends for himself. He ends up on the Johannesburg streets, where he joins one of a number of glue-sniffing bands begging on the city streets

Performance history in South Africa

1988: The production toured Soweto and other townships. The cast consisted of Pat Mashigo, Kholofelo Kola, Lufama Yamani, and Ellen Billie.

1991: Tilman Hanckel, the cultural counsellor at the German Embassy in South Africa organised a visit by the cast of Ababhemi to the centre for African Culture and Communication in Dusseldorf. The production was performed in community centres and festivals in Germany.

Sources

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 Unpublished PhD thesis.

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