The Eye
The Eye is a play by Darlington Michaels (1946-2024) and McIntosh Khoale (?-).
Contents
The original text
The play is about a white woman who marries a black man. Comedy, dance and song ensue when a bumbling and terrified minister reluctantly marries the couple. The minister fears the consequences of the Immorality Act, an apartheid era legislation that prevented conjugal relations and marriage between people classified in different racial categories. The play satirises apartheid by setting ridiculous scenarios where the couple are compelled to sleep on separate bunk beds and use different entrances into their home, even after marriage.
Translations and adaptations
Performance history in South Africa
1982-1984: Presented by Melisizwe Community Theatre, the play toured extensively in South African townships. In the cast were Darlington Michaels, McIntosh Khoale, Boitumelo Dijo and Dumakude Mnembe.
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 Unpublished PhD thesis.
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