Black Plays - Township Plays

During the 1970s and 80s, theatre played an important role in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and elsewhere. It provided a space in which black artists could assert an alternative South African identity. ‘Township Plays’ explores the resistance and daily struggle of the black South African communities.

Plays covered: Sizwe Bansi is Dead by John Kani/Winston Ntshona, Township Stories by Relativity, Bopha! by Percy Mtwa and The Hungry Earth by Maishe Maponya.

In this series Natasha Bonnelame (until recently the Black Plays Archive Project Manager), will be joined by guest speakers including Lynette Goddard and Topher Campbell, to explore a diverse collection of plays from dramatists of African and Caribbean heritage. Combining performances, clips of past productions and lively discussion, each session will examine a topic, from decolonisation to sexuality, protest theatre to cosmopolitanism.


National Theatre’s Black Plays Archive
Many of the plays covered in this series can be found in the Black Plays Archive. This is an online catalogue of the first professional production of every African, Caribbean, and Black British play produced in the UK. In addition to the catalogue there are a number of contextual resources, including audio recordings of play extracts, essays and video interviews.