South African Theatre 1960 1994: My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard

South African Theatre 1960 – 1994: My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard

LEARNING AIMS:

After you have completed this unit, you should be able to:

• analyse the text of My Children! My Africa! according to the dramatic principles. • explore the background of the playwright • understand how the socio-political circumstances of that time influenced the text. • consider the principles of drama, style and genre, staging and setting in the text.

INTRODUCTION

This unit contains all the information you will need to successfully analyse the My Children! My Africa! text and to prepare you to answer questions about the text.

IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY:

apartheid

A political system based on political and economic discrimination against nonwhite people. Apartheid originated in South Africa and was implemented from 1948 – 1994. Bantu The official term used to describe black South Africans as well as their language. Black people did not favour the word and use thereof. Brakwater The location where Thami lives. Camdeboo The fictional town in which Isabel lives.

Comrades

Members of an activity or organisation. In South Africa the word is used in reference to members of the struggle against apartheid. Confucius A Chinese philosopher and teacher who lived from 551 – 479. His philosophy emphasises humaneness, loyalty to one’s nature, morality, justice and virtue. Detention The act of holding someone in a prison, often without a trial. Epitaph Inscription praising a dead person; usually found on a grave. Impoverished Made very poor. Indaba Discussion. June 16 The scene of a youth uprising in June 1976 when students protested against uprising the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in their schools. Lake Poets A group of English poets who lived in England’s Lake District around the beginning of the 1800s; Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey. Nom-de-plume False name. Protégé A person who is guided by an older, more experienced person. Romantic An intellectual movement stretching between 1770 and 1850 in which poets, Movement musicians and artists challenged the political and social order of the time. States of A period of time between 1985 and 1987 where South Africa was placed under Emergency a State of Emergency. During this time the government could ban

organisations and meetings, could ban the media from reporting on certain events and could keep someone in detention without making their identities known. Sharpeville The scene of a massacre on 21 March 1960 when the PAC organised a protest against pass books and police opened fire. Traditionalist A conservative person that believes in the established way of doing things. Treason The act of betraying your country or people. Vandalism The act of deliberately destroying property.

STUDY:

Your My Children! My Africa text as well as the notes in this guide are the most important resources to study in order for you to master this section of your Grade 12 work. Read through the text and study the notes and activities in the text. Please pay attention to the following:

• Important dramatic characteristics and historic background of My Children! My

Africa! • The summary of the text as well as the various scene summaries • Notes on the drama (themes and characters) • Pre- and post-reading activities with answers. It is VERY important to do these activities. • The glossary and key words

TIP:

Seeing that this play was written during the time of Apartheid and explores the political uprisings of the black youth, it will help you to do some research about the States of Emergency imposed during the 1980s by the apartheid government. It will also help to do some research about the 3 September 1984 constitution, the education crisis of the 1980s as well as Bantu education.

My Children! My Africa!

This play is set in South Africa in the year 1984, a year before the apartheid government announced a State of Emergency to try to control the growing resistance against apartheids policies amongst the black population. This play forms part of the State of Emergency Literature and Apartheid Literature written in South Africa between 1984 and 1989.

The questions asked in this play are just as important today as it was in 1989. Can violence be justified when using words cannot be successful in bringing about social change? Must the youth sacrifice their education in order to fight for the things they believe in? My Children! My Africa! is a catalyst for debate and critical thinking and is a gripping drama portraying an important part of our country’s history to a young audience. Our history forms our present – thus it is important for you, as post-apartheid teenager, to understand the historic happenings that shaped the democratic South Africa of today. (Burger, 2015)

The playwright – Athol Fugard

Athol Fugard is a South African writer, actor and director that has created over thirty plays. He is famous for his political plays that address and tackle the racial segregation of apartheid. He was born in the Eastern Cape in 1932 and grew up in Port Elizabeth. His father was a musician of British heritage and his mother was an Afrikaner woman that managed a tea shop. He studied at the University of Cape Town and had numerous jobs after completing his studies. He worked as a deckhand on a ship, as a journalist for the SABC and later as a clerk in the Native Commissioners Court. It is during his time here where he experienced the inhumanities of the apartheid system and it left a big impression on him.

In 1956 he went back to Port Elizabeth and married actress Sheila Meiring. Together they formed The Circle Players. He also worked as actor in Johannesburg and it was with this experience that he started writing plays. These plays dramatized the effects the political system had on ordinary people. Plays like Sizwe Bansi is Dead and Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act documented the lives of black South Africans and actively criticised apartheid. The Secret Police started spying on Fugard and his theatre.

Athol Fugard (http://goo.gl/dpkjF0)

The Blood Knot won him international attention as a playwright, however all the attention was not positive. After the first performance the piece was banned in South Africa, limitations were placed on his movements and his passport was taken away. It took an international protest for him to be allowed to travel to England to direct one of his plays. During the late 1960s he formed another drama group – The Serpent Players – that consisted of a group of black actors with full time jobs. They came together in a vacated snake pit in a zoo, from there the name (serpent refers to snake). Fugard carried on writing plays that criticised and tackled apartheid and segregation during these years, and in doing so gained popularity and interest in America and Europe.

During the 1980s Fugard moved to America and worked there as a playwright and professor. In 1989, My Children! My Africa! was performed for the first time. Fugard insisted the play make its debut in South Africa. For this run Fugard directed and the legendary actor, John Kani, played Mr M. By the time this play was completed and performed, the end of apartheid was near, but the country was caught in a fierce battle that included political unrest, uprisings and the declarations of the States of Emergency. Fugard’s daughter Lisa portrayed the role of Isabel in the New York and London productions and Fugard was quoted in an interview saying that her life played a big part when writing the play. “I think, to a great extent, it came from observing how Lisa handled problems that came with growing up in South Africa – the question of white guilt, the accident of having a different skin colour and the whole dilemma of the country.” (Accuardi et al., Resource Guide for Teachers)

The poster for the British run of My Children! My Africa! starring Lisa Fugard as Isabel Dyson and directed by Athol Fugard (http://goo.gl/3nYbHf)

Summary

In 1984, in a classroom in the black Zolile High School, a debate is being held about whether women should have the same right to education as their male counterparts. Thami, who is debating that women should not have the same rights to education, is one of the school’s smartest learners and is the headmaster, Mr M’s, favourite. Arguing against Thami is Isabel Dyson, a learner from Cambedoo High School. Mr. M thought it a good idea to invite white girls from the school nearby to come and have a debate. In doing so he was hoping that racial integration would be encouraged in a time of racial segregation and political unrest amongst black learners.

Thami and Isabel instantly get along and Mr M gets the idea to team them up for an English literature competition. During the time they prepare for the competition, Isabel and the teacher form a close relationship, Isabel and Thami become close friends and Isabel’s world and horizons are broadened and tested. Outside of the classroom Mr M and Thami’s relationship is tested by the generation gap as well as the differences in perspectives about the political situation of the country at that stage. Thami decides not to take part in the competition anymore and becomes part of the student movement to boycott schools and to demand that black pupils receive the same education as their white counterparts.

Mr M has traditional values and is a dedicated teacher who opposes the apartheid education system but still believes that an education and to use words to get your message across is more important than using violence. Because of his convictions he supplies the police with a list of names of the learners that took part in the protest. Thami’s comrades find out about this and storm the school, demanding justice. Thami tries to save Mr M by offering to convince the crowd that Mr M is innocent, but Mr m does not want to be part of a lie. He walks out to go and ring the bell and is overpowered and killed.

Isabel struggles to make sense of his death and cannot understand why the black community would do this to each other. She sees Thami for the last time before he flees South Africa because of the fact that his name is on the list and to commence with the battle/struggle against apartheid. He suggests that she go to Wapadsberg pass to bid a final farewell to Mr M. It is here where he was first inspired to become a teacher and it is here where Isabel says her final goodbye to him. (Accuardi et al., Resource Guide for Teachers)

Characters

Mr M

Anela Myalatya (known as Mr M) is a 57 year old black teacher and headmaster at Zolile High School. He believes that an education is the most powerful weapon in the fight for freedom and equality. He is absolutely passionate about teaching and education and believes that black South Africans can end apartheid through education and hard work – and not necessarily with violence. He makes it his mission to teach learners how to think independently and to give them the language skills needed to express these independently formed thoughts. He also believes in the power of the dictionary and debate. He dislikes vandalism, breaking the law and boycotts.

He has a lot of respect for Thami and has high expectations for what he will do with his life. Unfortunately, because of his strict interpretation of the role of the teacher and his authoritarian attitude, open lines of communication are not present between himself and Thami. He is isolated from his own people because he does not try to see or understand their perspectives.

He has dedicated his entire life to his learners and is not a rich man. His life is enriched by the learners he teaches as well as the books he reads. (Burger, 2015)

Isabel

Isabel Dyson is an 18 year old, white, English speaking girl who lives a sheltered life in the fictional town of Camdeboo. She goes to school at the Camdeboo school for girls and aspires to be a writer. She is smart, is good at debating and is fiery and driven to succeed. She is also sensitive, has empathy for the people around her and is naïve and ignorant because of the way apartheid shaped her life. Before she befriended Thami and Mr M, she did not really have an idea what was going on in South Africa and how people who weren’t white, actually lived.

She gets influenced quite strongly by her contact with Thami and Mr M and her eyes open to a certain extent to what is going on in the country. She seeks out more contact with her new friends as well as other people in their circumstances because she feels that this is closer to ‘reality’ than her own life. She is always affected deeply by Thami breaking contact with her as well as Mr M’s murder. She becomes the voice of hope at the end of the play and is determined to do something worthwhile with her life in honour of her friendship with Mr M. (Burger, 2015)

Thami

Thami Mbikwana is an 18 year old black South African learner in Mr M’s class at Zolile Highschool. He is highly intelligent and is Mr M’s star student. According to Mr M, Thami is also a natural leader and the audience learns of his eloquence when he addresses his comrades.

As the play develops Thami becomes more and more disillusioned by the circumstances and community in which he lives. We get to know him as a scholar who is eager to learn and positive and he develops into a young man who is sick and tired of the Bantu education system and the trap in which this system places his thoughts. He rejects the academic future Mr M has planned for him in favour of a future as a revolutionary. He is absolutely passionate about changing his own future as well as that of his fellow South Africans.

Thami is different to his fellow comrades in the boycotts in that he is more rational and is able to control himself. He tries to avoid conflict with Mr M until it is just not possible anymore. He respects Mr M and it is only at the end of the play where he openly rebels against him. (Burger, 2015)

A production of My Children! My Africa! by Victory Gardens (http://goo.gl/h9eBM4)

Based on these descriptions of the three characters (and before you read the play) with which character do you think you will identify the most? Why do you think so?

Themes

The effects of an unfair social- and educational system

This play captures the effects and consequences of an unfair political system on the lives of ordinary, everyday people. The decisions made and implemented by the apartheid government irrevocably changed the lives of black South Africans. Except for the racial segregation of the apartheid government, there was also the Bantu Education Act that ended the autonomy of the black schools and placed them under the control of the apartheid government. According to this act, black learners were taken out of and separated from the white education system, which was well funded. Subjects and content taught was greatly reduced and the African culture and identity was not allowed to be taught. In 1955, the teacher to learner ratio in white schools was at 1:18 and in black schools it was a staggering 1:46. Only 15% of the teachers in black schools were certified to be teachers in comparison to the 96% in white schools. By 1970 black schools only received one tenth of the per capita funding from the state in comparison with white schools.

Examples form the text that shows the theme:

• The violent boycott of schools that takes place because the learners and members of the struggle were not able to accept the Bantu education system any longer. • Mr M’s murder can be directly linked to the unfair schooling system and the effects thereof on the community and learners. • Thami’s description of the people in the township – ‘a generation of defeated men and women crawling back to their miserable pondoks at the end of a day’s work.’ This describes the psychological cost of apartheid on black people very aptly. • Isabel’s description of the grey classroom at Zolile High School and the corrugated iron houses, rocks, dust and no water and electricity in the Brakwater location describes the physical poverty of black South Africans very accurately. (Burger, 2015)

Violence versus communication

The opposing methods whereby people achieve social justice is one of the main themes in this work and is also a theme that is as old as humanity itself. From the earliest times, people have been in social and political flux. People oppress other people and then the oppressed start an uprising against their oppressors. The question that this play forces you to ask is: What is the best way to go about bringing social and political change? In this play, Mr M is in favour of debate, education and dialogue as solution to the problem. These methods may well slow down the progress and sometimes have limited means to bring about real and actual change. At the other end of the spectrum we have Thami representing armed resistance and violent uprisings and protests as a quicker revolution. These methods may work faster in bringing about change, but have injuries, death and vandalism of property as consequence. So we see that Mr M and Thami represent the symbolic opposing ends of the spectrum of this debate. Mr M’s principles stop him from using violence to go up against apartheid, even though he is against apartheid. He honestly believes that they can change and improve the situation with words. Thami sees that his somewhat ‘passive’ approach will take long and that very little improvement has been brought about this way, he is impatient and sees boycotts and violent protests as the only way for his people to win their freedom. Fugard uses the struggle between Thami and Mr M, which Isabel sometimes tries to mediate, to illustrate the two different approaches that are taken to change the political landscape. Emotion (violence) is waging a war against reason (communication) in polemical dialogues up until the end where communication and reason loses. (Langer, 1992)

Unfortunately this theme is not exclusively bound within 1980s apartheid. Our country is still struggling with inequalities, especially in education, and sees regular uprisings and protests such as the 2015 #feesmustfall campaign.

Is there a cause you feel so strongly about that you would be willing to fight for it? Will you go as far as to engage in violence for this cause? Do you think that violence can ever be justified?

The generation gap

Much like the theme of communication versus violence, the age-old generation gap theme is one that played a big role during apartheid and is still with us. In My Children! My Africa! this theme is brought to light by the disagreement between Mr M and Thami. Mr M is part of the older black generation that lived for years under the oppression of apartheid and Thami is part of the younger generation that believes apartheid and the oppression of black people can only be changed by immediate revolutionary action. The generation gap is explored by the teacher-learner relationship between these two characters. (Burger, 2015)

According to Burger (2015) the conflict between Mr M and Thami symbolises a wider struggle experienced by children and young people worldwide because of the difference between their perspectives and how they view the world and that of their parents and teachers. When they try to make sense of their world and reality, it brings them into direct conflict with the older generation and the ‘grown-up’ world.

In this play Thami directly takes on Mr M and his generation’s careful approach to change. Thami says: “The time for whispering is past” when he lifts his fist and raises his voice against apartheid. (Rich, 1989)

The power of words and education

Fugard’s hope is that he will be able to bring about change with his words. Much like Fugard, Mr M believes that they will be able to change apartheid and the situation of black people in South Africa by the use of words and the power of a good education. For Fugard the most important weapons to effect change are words and language. At one stage in the play, Mr M holds up a dictionary in one hand and a stone in the other. He says that they weigh approximately the same, but the stone/rock is merely a stone/rock and that the dictionary contains the entire might of the English language. The characters in this play often use words as ammunition to fight battles against the backdrop of political struggle. We see how words and sentences get twisted and used to gain political advantage. One character tells the other that he should be weary of the words he uses (“Beware of the words you use”).

The play starts off with a battle of words in the form of a debate between Thami and Isabel. The debate takes place in the classroom that is seen by Fugard as a safe space (safe haven). Here learners can seek out a general humaneness between people. The classroom becomes the place of debate for all that is good, true and beautiful. In the safety of the classroom ideals may be taught, friendships can develop and trust can be won. Fugard assumes that the power of words can be found in a certain indestructible essence that is located in the ideals of liberalism. This essentialist view/position theorises over a possibility of prefect meaning and a perfect world. The double metaphor of the debate and the classroom serves as example. A debate can be seen as the art of persuasion, which is a call to action that can be used as a base to achieve a specific effect. The debate then does not revolve around the shortcomings of humanity, but about the strategies for action. (Munro, 1993)

Another way in which the power of education as theme is strengthened in this play is by Mr M’s love and respect for Confucius. Confucius was a Chinese philosopher born in 551 BC. He lived during a time when feudalism took over and the aristocracy ignored the suffering of masses of impoverished people. The people were trying to form a new government while fighting the oppression. A comparison can be made between the socio political circumstances of Confucius’ time and that of the people oppressed during apartheid. When Confucius was 15 he decided to dedicate his life to education and later travelled through the country advising various leaders and other people. During this time he gained a group of followers that took his teachings about honesty, love, justice and loyalty to heart – and thus Confucianism was born. In My Children! My Africa! Mr M says that Confucius is his teacher and we see that the two figures share many fundamental ideals. Both believe very strongly in the power of education and the importance of morality as part of governing. Mr M tries to use education to show the learners how they are being oppressed by apartheid and how they can fight it by educating themselves. (Africanlit on Wikispaces)

Living a meaningful life

This play also looks at the potential within people that goes to waste. We are made aware of this theme as soon as Isabel goes back home after her first visit to Zolile when she speaks about the ideas, chances and people of the location that is only a fraction of what they/it could be. She talks about this again in the closing scene of the play when she promises Mr M that she will try to live a meaningful life and be useful to others.

Examples from the text:

• Isabel Dyson after her first visit to Brakwater: “the ideas, the chances, the people, especially the people … all of that is only a small fraction of what it could be”. • In scene 3 of the first act Mr M elaborates on the idea when he says that it would be a waste to let Thami and Isabel battle each other – they should rather fight together: “If the sight of them as opponents is so exciting, imagine what it would be like if they were allies. If those two stood side by side, if they joined forces, they could take on anybody… and win”. • Just before his death, Mr M calls out: “What is wrong with the world that it wants to waste you all like that ... My Children! My Africa!” • The play ends with Isabel making a promise to Mr M that she will try to make her life useful and meaningful: “You gave me a little lecture once about wasted lives … how much of it you’d seen, how much you hated it, how much you didn’t want that to happen to Thami and me … I am going to try my best to make my life useful in the way that yours was. I want you to be proud of me. After all, I am one of your children now, you know … The future is still ours, Mr. M.”

Isabel touches on Mr M’s idea of lives being wasted and to live your life as meaningfully as possible – not just for yourself but for the people around you. How would you describe a wasted life in terms of people in your community, school or family? What do these wasted lives look like? How can you ensure that your life is not wasted and that you live a meaningful life?

The following themes are also explored in the play: • False hope • White guilt • Idealism versus reality

How would you elaborate on these themes? Which other themes do you think are addressed or brought to light in this play?

Structure of the play

My Children! My Africa! is a play consisting of two acts. This means that is made up of two main parts. Each act is divided into various scenes. This play is predominantly made up of dialogues and monologues – there is little action. The power of the play lies in the words and the use thereof as well as in the powerful emotions behind each character’s words that make every dialogue and speech a highly anticipated happening. (Rick On Theatre, 2012)

The monologues in this piece are a powerful way in which Fugard brings his words to the forefront. Thami, Mr M and Isabel each have one or two monologues. A monologue is a long speech delivered by one actor. During the monologue the character is alone on stage or he/she is busy speaking to another character, letting the audience in on his/her feelings and thoughts. They character doing the monologue could be speaking directly to the audience or with the other character on stage. The goal of the monologue is to convey the character’s deepest feelings. In My Children! My Africa! Fugard chooses to rather make use of monologues to convey the characters’ feelings to the audience and to show the character development. He does this instead of placing them in too many scenes where the characters are placed face to face in order to grow. (Rich, 1989)

Monologues in the play:

• First Act – Scene 2: Isabel’s first monologue • First Act – Scene 4: Mr M’s first monologue • First Act – Scene 6: Thami’s monologue • Second Act – Scene 2: Mr M’s second monologue • Second Act – Scene 5: Isabel’s second monologue

Go and read through the summary of the play that is set out per scene in your text and pay attention to the summaries and meanings of the various monologues.

South African context

Apartheid

After the National Party came into power in South Africa in 1948, the white government immediately began to implement certain existing policies of racial segregation under a system of legislation the government called apartheid. Under apartheid, non-white South Africans (the majority of the population) were forced to live in separate areas and to make use of separate public facilities. Contact between the two groups would also be limited. Despite strong and continued opposition against apartheid inside and outside of South Africa, these laws stayed in place for the biggest part of 50 years.

Bantu Education in apartheid

The apartheid system created educational inequality by putting in place an openly racist policy. The Bantu Education Act of 1952 ensured that non-white learners would receive an education that would limit their potential and keep them in the working class. The policy limited the content to which black learners would be exposed to, thus ensuring that their access to further education would be prevented. It was mandatory for white children to go to school from the age of seven to sixteen, whereas black children only had to attend school until they were thirteen years old. It was clear that the less education and instruction a child received, the less the chances were for that child to have choices in the working world and to gain access to further education.

The educational inequality was just as evident in the funding the schools received. The Bantu Education Act created separate Education Departments according to race and allocated considerably less money to the black school than to their white counterparts. This caused the quality and quantity of the learning material available as well as the facilities and teachers to be of a poor quality in black schools. Learner numbers in classrooms was also problematic; in black schools the ratio of teachers to children was somewhere between 1:39 and 1:46, in white schools the ratio was 1:18. The teachers in black schools were also not qualified, with only 15% being certified to teach. The Bantu Education Act also withdrew funding to schools that associated with specific religions and also forbade any teachings of the African traditions, culture and history.

There was also serious racial and language discrimination in the tertiary education sector with four Afrikaans speaking universities and one English university who only accepted white students. The other five universities had limited access for non-white students and also had segregated classrooms. On top of this, banks did not provide any financial assistance to black students in the form of loans. This meant that, even if a black learner was accepted at a university, it was highly unlikely that he/she would have the necessary money to pay the tuition fees and was subsequently unable to break the cycle of poverty by receiving further education. (Ocampo, 2004)

The Soweto uprisings and the education crisis of the 1980s

In 1976, thousands of black learners came together in Soweto to protest against the Afrikaans language requirement for black learners at school. The police shot at them and threw teargas. The first revolt was on the morning of the 16th of June in 1976 where thousands of learners walked from their schools to get to Orlando Stadium for the rally – because of this specific date we celebrate and remember Youth Day on the 16th of June. It is estimated that between 176 and 700 high school learners were killed by the police during the uprisings. One of the first victims was Hector Pieterson, a thirteen year old boy who was shot and killed by the police at Orlando West High School. He has become the symbol for the Soweto uprising.