Sizwe Banzi is Dead
Sometimes you must die so you can live.
A powerful and joyous new production of the seminal play. Port Elizabeth in Apartheid South Africa. Sizwe Banzi, an African worker, has a passbook stating he was supposed to return home three days ago. Without a valid passbook, Sizwe cannot work and therefore cannot support his wife and four children.
After finding a dead body with a passbook valid to work in Port Elizabeth, Sizwe must decide whether his name defines who he is, or should he steal the dead man’s identity in order to provide for his family. As he steps into the photographic studio, he must make that decision.
Fifty years later, the play is still relevant, both for those who know all too well the continued human oppression that takes place across the world and those who are too young to remember South African apartheid.
This production of Sizwe Banzi is Dead marks the first time a classic South African play has been produced at MAST Mayflower Studios, directed by John Pfumojena.
Written by Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona
“Sizwe Banzi Is Dead” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.
6th – 14th October
MAST Mayflower Studios, 142, 144 Above Bar St, Southampton SO14 7DU
Tickets: https://www.mayflowerstudios.org.uk/what-s-on/sizwe-banzi-is-dead-2023/
