“Three generations of white South African men were bound together at that table. Vermuelen was the first generation. He defined Africa, made it safe for Basson to defile. I was the last generation, the last to grow up in segregated neighborhoods. Between us was the silent photograph of Wouter Basson. Like a distant father, Basson was absent at the dining table.” – Henk Rossouw (Hole in the White ‘Hood). Also Mahmood Mamdani on Bantu Education at UCT, Gael Reagon on sisterhood, Binyavanga Wainaina on dis-covering Kenya, Gaston Zossou on African intellectuals and more…
Cover:
Strange Fruit by Lewis Allen
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.