PART 1 – English
– A radio play about farm workers, by farm workers.
In South Africa, Radio broadcasting is still the preferred platform of the people over other mass media channels. Radio can reach the widest audience irrespective of class, income and other personal factors. It doesn’t take time away from the busy schedule of the working class, who don’t have a lot of leisure time to dedicate to watching media. Radio comes to you, be it in a home, in a taxi, in a factory, or from a small radio set that accompanies farm workers on their daily chores.
This is why members of CSAAWU, Botsoso Arts Collective and ILRIG came together to record this revolutionary play – created by the Farm workers to creatively address their problems and solutions, in a format that will best reach other farm workers that need to hear the message of resistance on the airwaves.
The play is performed in both English and Afrikaans – to appeal to the workers of Western Cape farms. There are three parts to the story created as separate episodes.
Part 1 – British Unionist meets the Farm Workers
Simon, a Union representative from the UK, comes to visit a South African Union. He meets the shops stewards who engage him in a lively dialogue about the similarities in their struggles and mutual experiences in successful organising.
The episode ends with a knock on the door. A union member Japhta arrives in distress. He’s just been accused of stealing grapes by the boss of the wine farm that employs him and where his family resides. Japhta fears persecution and asks the union for help.
Listening to the play, one can really feel how close these scenarios are to the hearts of the performers, how well they know the suffering of the farmers and how much power they see in their union.
The script is realistic, energetic and engaging. It works perfectly with the voices of the talented individuals, all bringing their unique flavour and making the story their own. The long hours of rehearsing were well worth it, creating a truly unique piece of South African worker resistance theatre.
The play will be released on various community radio stations, Spotify and social media. Follow ILRIG for more details: www.ilrig.org.za
Script and direction:
Members of the cast:
Henry “Nols” van Wyk
Zann Manho
Denver Arendse
Eric Cornelius
Ellen Fortuin
Sune Brown
Ashura Easton
Redano Appies
Pearl Mupoperi
Written and directed by Allan Kolski Horwitzof Botsoso Arts Collective, commissioned by ILRIG
Recorded and edited by Promit Group.
Special thanks to Bertha House for the use of their recording studios
