Tribute to pioneering playwright
Childress only African-American woman to have produced works spanning four decades
WHEN rising star, director and theatre-maker Nwabisa Plaatjie came across the work of African-American playwright Alice Childress, she was intrigued. “Who is this lady?” she asked, and after finding out more, the question was answered: she was the perfect vehicle in which to pay tribute to evolving women and open the floor to issues on narrative and gender.
Plaatjie will be bringing to life two plays by Childress as part of the Baxter’s Women’s Month celebrations at the end of the month.
Childress is largely regarded as the only African-American woman to have written, produced and published plays for four decades. A beacon of hope, known for opening doors for many black playwrights, actors and producers, she was also involved in social justice causes and formed an off-Broadway union for performers at a time of widespread discrimination.
Plaatjie says her work resonated with her substantially on many levels.
“I was looking for something when I wasn’t engaging in written work and wanted to do something new, and after all these decades, Childress’s plays are still very relevant for young artists.”
Childress at the time said she was trying to portray the “have-nots” in a “have” society. “My writing attempts to interpret the ‘ordinary’ because they are not ordinary. Each human is uniquely different,” she said.
Plaatjie says, “Young creatives, black and white, have to continue conversations – human to human. How we relate without politics hanging over us, but, at the same time, we need to embrace the struggle and find a way that sits with our souls.”
The playwright grew up in Harlem, New York City, where she acted with the American Negro Theatre in the 1940s. It’s there that she wrote, directed and starred in her first short play, one of the two plays that forms part of the double bill that will be staged at the Baxter.
The second play is
Written in 1950, Florence takes place in a train station waiting room in a small town in America’s South. It describes how Miss Whitney (Zoleka Helesi), a black mother in her late 50s, engages in conversation with a white woman, Mrs Carter (played by Daneel van der Walt). Through their exchange, Miss Whitney realises that her daughter Florence – a struggling young actress – may not be able to pursue her dream in a racist and fickle world. Meanwhile,
explores the experience of being a black woman and how black characters struggle to overcome poverty and gender politics. An artist (Sizwesandile Mnisi) is working on a series of three paintings entitled
aiming to define black womanhood. But, the question is raised what exactly is black womanhood and who decides on that definition?
and run as a double bill at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio, from August 28 until September 13 at 7.30pm. Booking at www.webtickets.co.za