Postcolonial Plays

Dance and politics: Moving beyond boundaries

“…Fuchs reads the play as didactic, highlighting a song within the play with the lyrics 'wake up, Mother Africa, 78 Wake up, before the white man rapes you' (Fuchs 2002). Gilbert notes that The Hungry Earth was criticised for its portrayal of an idyllic and harmonious pre-colonial society, as well as for simplifying black-white relationships (Gilbert 2001). It is clear that, whether critiqued or endorsed, this play was important in South African theatre history as well as in the history of racial and economic inequalities within the country.…”

“…The last scene displays the death of a young miner and the subsequent lamentation by his wife. The function of language is crucial in the play: it uses Zulu at a time when Dutch, English and Afrikaans were the three official languages in South Africa (Gilbert 2001). Language symbolises hierarchy and segregation.…”