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Tshepang (Oberon Modern Plays) by Lara Foot-Newton
Book by Newton, Lara Foot
Unknown Binding
First published September 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 27, 2018
Perfectly imperfect - just like South Africa. The horror of living here in one little play with enough pain to burden all 60 million of us and find us all guilty
December 10, 2018
Having only one character who acts on the stage is new for me, so I kinda like it, but it's very disappointing, maybe cuz it's a true story.
April 28, 2009
A man and a woman sit in a dusty South African backwater. As their tale unfolds, the audience catches a glimpse of the horror being perpetrated on the children of South Africa. It is based on a true occurance.
I hope this was set in South Africa. I read it a while ago. The majority of the dialogue (maybe even all of it) belongs to the male actor in the play. He's a childhood friend (boyfriend now?) of the silent woman who frets beside him.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
It is revealed that the woman's infant daughter was raped by her former boyfriend. The horrific event occured when the woman refused the man sex and went out instead to the local bar.
The telling of the story was very effective. The non-chalant way in which the abuse of the child is detailed, the sickening trauma against the backdrop of ordinary life, was striking.
What really bothered me, however, was that the rape of the child was marked down as simply the result of the uncontrollable, savage lust of the former boyfriend. The actor tells of other occurances of the same nature happening all over South Africa and these also are attributed to male sexual violence. In real life, these hideous crimes were committed because of the popular myth that AIDS and other STDs can be prevented or cured by sexual intercourse with a virgin.
I thought perhaps the existence of these myths wasn't common knowledge at the time of the play's writing and that was why the author hadn't made that the reason behind the abuse. But this "cure-all" was known to be cause of the case on which this play is based at the time the crime was discovered. I just don't know why the author would paint such horrible actions as resulting from man's beastial sex drive rather than as a consequence of a criminal lack of and/or inept sex education and information.
I hope this was set in South Africa. I read it a while ago. The majority of the dialogue (maybe even all of it) belongs to the male actor in the play. He's a childhood friend (boyfriend now?) of the silent woman who frets beside him.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
It is revealed that the woman's infant daughter was raped by her former boyfriend. The horrific event occured when the woman refused the man sex and went out instead to the local bar.
The telling of the story was very effective. The non-chalant way in which the abuse of the child is detailed, the sickening trauma against the backdrop of ordinary life, was striking.
What really bothered me, however, was that the rape of the child was marked down as simply the result of the uncontrollable, savage lust of the former boyfriend. The actor tells of other occurances of the same nature happening all over South Africa and these also are attributed to male sexual violence. In real life, these hideous crimes were committed because of the popular myth that AIDS and other STDs can be prevented or cured by sexual intercourse with a virgin.
I thought perhaps the existence of these myths wasn't common knowledge at the time of the play's writing and that was why the author hadn't made that the reason behind the abuse. But this "cure-all" was known to be cause of the case on which this play is based at the time the crime was discovered. I just don't know why the author would paint such horrible actions as resulting from man's beastial sex drive rather than as a consequence of a criminal lack of and/or inept sex education and information.
August 31, 2008
(3.5 stars)
Something occurs in a small South African village, a place where (it is often stated) nothing ever happens. There are over twenty thousand like cases reported in South Africa. It is horrifying.
Don't read the back of the book, just delve into the play (it is a one act, it wont take long). A man and woman are on stage and the story is told. It is a rather simple conceit, but remember that this is a true story. I do wish the play delved deeper into investigating why such happenings are so prevalent, but the play is still a very good one.
Something occurs in a small South African village, a place where (it is often stated) nothing ever happens. There are over twenty thousand like cases reported in South Africa. It is horrifying.
Don't read the back of the book, just delve into the play (it is a one act, it wont take long). A man and woman are on stage and the story is told. It is a rather simple conceit, but remember that this is a true story. I do wish the play delved deeper into investigating why such happenings are so prevalent, but the play is still a very good one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews