(4)
Black Jesus
Anders Lustgarten
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead
by Athol Fugard, John Kani, Winston Ntshona
Synopsis
In Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Sizwe Banzi, a African worker whose passbook is not in order, walks into the photograph studio of Styles, another African.
Without a proper passbook, Sizwe Banzi cannot work and therefore cannot support his wife and four children.
Returning drunkenly from a bar one night, Sizwe Banzi and his friend, Buntu, stumble across the body of a dead man whose passbook is in order.
Photographer Styles attaches Sizwe Banzi's photo to the dead man's passbook.
So Sizwe Banzi "dies" by taking on the dead man's identity and so, too, lives again so he can support himself and his family.
Press Reviews
"Touching, moving and beautiful."
— The New York Times
Characters
| Character |
|---|
FRIEDA JOUBERT A white librarian |
ERROL PHILANDER a black schoolteacher |
DETECTIVE SERGEANT J. DUPEREZ - a neighboring white detective |
Publication
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead is a play written by Athol Fugard and published by Samuel French.
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Performance Rights
Available for Licensing
Amateur & Professional
Fee:Minimum Fee: $120 per performance
Restrictions: Major Markets Plus (US) / Standard Plus Add'l Postcodes (UK)
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