Woza Albert!

Woza Albert! is a satirical political play that imagines the second coming of Christ during the apartheid-era in South Africa. Woza Albert was the first play in the world to have a backstory

Woza Albert!
Written byPercy Mtwa
Mbongeni Ngema
Barney Simon
Date premiered1981
Place premieredMarket Theater
GenrePolitical satire|Workshop
SettingSouth Africa

Play

The play opened at Johannesburg's Market Theater and toured in Europe and America as the most successful play to come out of South Africa, winning more than 20 prestigious awards worldwide. In 2003 it was produced by Terence Frisby at the Criterion Theatre in London.

Woza Albert! (which means "Come Albert") was written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon in 1981. In 2002, it was performed in London by Siyabonga Twala and Errol Ndotho.

The two actors play roles of various black South Africans - a vendor, barber, servant, manual labourer, soldier - receiving the news that Christ (Morena) has arrived in South Africa, where a Calvinist white elite imposes apartheid. Christ's arrival precipitates a crisis, and the government launches a nuclear bomb against the peacemaker. In the ruins, great South African leaders in resistance to apartheid such as Albert Luthuli, former president of the African National Congress, are resurrected. They play dozens of parts that involve them using many skills such as acting, mime, singing and dance. They also create images using a few words and actions. The play is an example of Workshop Theater which was a rather popular style of performance in South Africa at the time as it allowed people to come together to create a performance that they were passionate about.

Film

A film was made under the same title, following the success of the play. A team from BBC Television, led by David M. Thompson, undertook the filming of the movie while in South Africa to film elections in 1981.[1] Equipment was scant, as was time, but nonetheless the film captured the performances that are the core of the film.[2]

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References
  1. "Woza Albert! [videorecording] in SearchWorks catalog". searchworks.stanford.edu. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  2. "Cross cultural film guide". Retrieved 15 July 2018.
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