Foul Papers in the Township

Abstract

In a bare classroom of the Arthur Nyobo Primary School in New Brighton (the oldest of the townships of Port Elizabeth on South Africa's Eastern Cape), a group of actors and a playwright are preparing a new play. There is one manuscript in the hands of the playwright. Strewn around the floor and tables and pinned to the wall are other pages of handwritten text, speeches, dialogues, cues – literally parts of the play. During the course of rehearsal, changes are made, speeches relearned on the spot. The playwright, who is also directing his own words, has as much of the text in his head as in his hand. Occasionally he will refer to his manuscript to check what he has written, but for the most part the play exists in the collective memory of himself and those who are acting it.

Shakespeare in Southern Africa Vol. 14 2002: pp. 25-26