“…The struggle of black people inevitably appear in an intensely cultural form because the social formation in which their distinct political traditions are now manifest has constructed the arena of politics on ground overshadowed by centuries of metropolitan capitalist development, thereby denying them recognition as legitimate politics. Blacks conduct a class struggle in and through race. The BC of race and class cannot be empirically separated, the class character of black struggles is not a result of the fact that blacks are predominantly proletarian, thought this is true…”- (Frank Talk Staff Writers in ‘Azania Salutes Tosh’ – circa 1981)
front cover:
Tosh by Steve Gordon
back cover:
Kippie by Basil Breakey
The Red on the Rainbow by Monageng Vice Motshabi (Diartskonageng, 2022)
The Red on the Rainbow is written and directed by Monageng Vice Motshabi. The play raises questions on how far have we come in recognizing the humanity of black people in South Africa since 1994. It follows the aftermath of the death of a young man on a maize farm at the hands of a farmer’s son and his friends. The play explores how time seems to remain frozen, picture style, in an unending apartheid-ghost-dance.
The Red on the Rainbow is a powerful vehicle that encourages people everywhere to strengthen and consolidate their voices against racism, to mobilise against all forms and manifestations of racial discrimination and injustice, and to ensure a safe environment through artistic excellence.
Monageng was the Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Theatre 2017. This play was adapted to a short film by Label Noir, which was screened with a reading of sections of the play at the Maxim Gorky Theatre, Berlin in 2020.
The play had its South African premier at the Soweto Theatre, as part of the Arts Alive Johannesburg International Arts Festival 2021. The play was then presented at the South African State Theatre, Jika Performing Arts College, in Botshabelo and at the Northern Cape Theatre.