To learn more about the topics mentioned in this study guide, check out these
books: The Empty Space, Peter Brook. Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela.
South African Arts South Africa has a rich history of art including music, performance, storytelling, and visual art. A few artists are listed below.
Language
Zain Bhikha (singer-songwriter)
South Africa has 11 official languages, one of which is Afrikaans, a mixture of several Dutch dialects, Portuguese, the Bantu languages, Malay, and the Khoisan languages. Afrikaans is spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia.
Athol Fugard (playwright)
Terms to Know
Dave Matthews (musician)
Bantu: Refers to a family of languages spoken among hundreds of ethnic groups in Africa. During apartheid, “Bantu” was a derogatory term for black Africans.
and singer)
Bantustan (also called “Homeland”): Ethnically defined regions that constituted 13% of South African territory during apartheid. Widespread poverty in these areas helped employers secure a supply of cheap black labor.
Gavin Hood (film director) Pieter Hugo (photographer) Hugh Masekela (jazz trumpeter
Legendary director Peter Brook brings to the stage a parable about forgiveness set in apartheid South Africa. Combining a rich musical score with a remarkably simple staging, The Suit follows a husband who doles out an unusual punishment to his unfaithful wife: he asks that she treat her lover’s abandoned suit as a guest of honor in their home.
Basil Rathbone (actor)
Written by Rose Wood bur y, Comm unica
Tracey Rose (performance artist)
tions Assista nt.
Irma Stern (painter) Charlize Theron (actress)
Colored: Term used to classify people of mixed race during apartheid. Drum magazine: Popular black South African monthly magazine started in the 1950s and devoted to black urban culture, editorials, and commentary on apartheid. National Party: Afrikaaner nationalist party founded in 1914. Instituted apartheid in 1948 and lost power to the African National Congress in 1994. Pass: Identification papers for Africans with racial classification and other personal information, including employment status and history. The government used passes to restrict the movement of blacks. ANC Women’s League: The Bantu Women’s League, a forerunner of the ANC Women’s League, was formed in 1918 in response to a government plan to reintroduce pass laws for women. It fought for the rights of black women and participated in civil disobedience campaigns. In 1943, the ANC accepted women into its membership and in 1948 the ANC Women’s League was formed.
Still Life with African Pot by Irma Stern
Township: Black residential areas on the outskirts of South African cities created by the white government.
Suggested Further Reading
Peter Brook’s
To learn more about the topics mentioned in this study guide, check out these books: The Empty Space, Peter Brook Dee Maaske and Marya Sea Kaminski in
Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela
The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard,
In His Own Words, Nelson Mandela
photo by Chris Bennion.
Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane
based on The Suit by Can
In Corner B, Es’kia Mphahlele A Rainbow in the Night: The Tumultuous Birth of South Africa, Dominique Lapierre
Themba, Mothobi Mutloatse, and Barney Simon
direction, adaptation, and music by There’s more information about The Suit on our website: seattlerep.org.
Stay Engaged @seattlerep
#srtSuit
Marie-Hélène Estienne, and Franck Krawczyk
Student discounts available. Under 25? $12 tickets.
The US tour of The Suit is produced by David Eden Productions, Ltd.
A Special Thank You to Our Education Sponsors: AT&T Foundation | The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation | The Chisholm Foundation Fales Foundation Trust | The Loeb Family Charitable Foundations | US Bancorp Foundation | Horizons Foundation
Peter Brook,
2013-2014 SEASON
THE PLAY IS SET IN Sophiatown, mid 20th century • • • •
South African Apartheid While the play seldom explicitly references the larger world, understanding the political context and institutionalized oppression helps to explain the characters’ extreme actions.
Apartheid: Afrikaans word for “apartness.” A racial segregation system that created a stratified society in which whites dominated politically, economically, and socially at the expense of blacks. Apartheid was enforced by the now-extinct National Party from 1948-1994. While racial segregation in South Africa began under Dutch and British colonial rule, apartheid was an official legislation based on the belief that the country couldn’t exist as one nation. Apartheid harshly deprived blacks and other non-white groups of basic rights in order to maintain white supremacy, even though whites made up less than 20% of South Africa’s population. Apartheid laws broke people into four main groups: “black,” “white,” “colored,” and
One of the oldest predominantly black areas in Johannesburg. Was once a vibrant center for jazz, arts, culture, and politics. One of the rare South African urban areas where blacks could own land. Razed by the white regime in 1955.
“Indian,” and these groups dictated where they could live. People who were categorized as “black” or “colored” had to carry passes wherever they went so that government officials could monitor the flow of blacks into white areas. The National Party forcefully removed people of color from their homes in order to implement segregation, as in the 1955 razing of Sophiatown, for example. This led to a substantial amount of internal unrest and violence throughout the National Party’s rule.
which time he became president of the ANC. He was able to negotiate with current South African president F.W. de Klerk to hold multiracial elections. In 1994, Mandela was elected president of South Africa, marking an official end to apartheid legislation. He held office until 1999.
Challenging the System In 1964 Nelson Mandela, an active member of the anti-apartheid party African National Congress (ANC), was sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to overthrow the government. By 1970 black people were deprived of their South African citizenship and relegated to ten “ethnically homogenous” territories. By the 1980s, the U.S. and Europe showed disapproval of apartheid by staging protests,
“I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons will live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal for which I hope to live for and to see realized. But, My Lord, if it needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” –Nelson Mandela, 1964 Rivionia Trial Nelson Mandela, Photo by Reuters.
“Untitled 2” from “Free South Africa” by Keith Haring.
boycotting South African products, and lobbying for Mandela’s release from prison. Mandela was granted release in 1990, at
Women under Apartheid Modern audiences of The Suit may question why Matilda doesn’t leave Philomen after he starts mistreating her, but under the specific historical circumstances, women had very few options. Racial and ethnic groups in South Africa have long-standing beliefs about gender roles, and most are based on the idea that women are subordinate to men. Gender discrimination against women was intensified under the white, patriarchal apartheid rule. Nevertheless, women banded together and became a major source of resistance to apartheid. In 1955 the ANC Women’s League, for example, organized more than 20,000 women to march on government buildings in Pretoria to protest pass laws (the requirement that blacks carry government documents) and other restrictions.
Mandela’s leadership in the fight for justice and equality is globally recognized. When he passed away last December, South Africa held a 10-day national mourning period, and many world leaders attended his funeral.
bringing the suit to the stage
Setting of
Speak Up! Panel Discussion: Women in South African Culture Renowned director and University of Washington drama professor Valerie Curtis-Newton will moderate a panel that includes The Suit actress Nonhlanhla Kheswa. The discussion will take place Sunday, March 30 following the 2 p.m. matinee performance and is free and open to the public. Come back to the Rep and join us!
Meet the Author: Can Themba The Suit is based on a short story of the same name written by Can Themba in 1967. Themba was born near Pretoria, South Africa in 1924 and later moved to Sophiatown, where he did most of his writing. He became a journalist for Drum magazine and wrote investigative pieces aimed at revealing the realities and inequities of apartheid. In 1955 the white regime razed Sophiatown, forcing the removal of all blacks and demolishing homes and cultural centers. Themba self-exiled to Swaziland where he worked as a teacher. In 1966 the South African government banned all of Themba’s works, claiming he was a communist. He died in 1968, and it wasn’t until the 1980s that his short stories became available through publication.
Can Themba. Photo by Jurgen Schadeberg.
ADAPTING FOR JOHANNESBURG’S MARKET THEATRE Mothobi Mutloatse and Barney Simon first adapted The Suit for the stage at Johannesburg’s Market Theatre in the early 1990s. The Market Theatre served as a place where blacks and whites could talk to each other and share ideas, despite apartheid’s rigid segregation laws. The Market Theatre aimed to provide a “voice for the voiceless” and challenge apartheid. In 1995, after apartheid lifted, the theatre was recognized for its outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent with an American Jujamcyn Award.
Outside the Market Theatre. Photo by Dan Brown.
Meet the Director: Peter Brook Peter Brook is a world-renowned film and theatre director born in London in 1925. He is perhaps bestknown for his minimalist adaptations of Shakespeare, which revolutionized 20th century theatre with their reimagined designs. In his groundbreaking book, The Empty Space, Brook argues that theatre exists to awaken an audience to an understanding of the human condition they were previously unable, or unwilling, to apprehend.
THIS PRODUCTION The Suit was translated into French for Brook’s first production in Paris. Marie-Hélène Estienne and Franck Krawczyk assisted with direction, adaptation, and music composition. The play was translated back into English for its subsequent tour, and this production marks the West Coast premiere. Seattle Rep Artistic Director Jerry Manning called Brook the “acknowledged maestro of theatre” and said that The Suit is to Peter Brook almost as The Tempest was to Shakespeare— a masterpiece that carries all the more weight because it’s coming late in his career.
Peter Brook
Peter Brook. Photo by Colm Hogan.
“I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged.” –Peter Brook, The Empty Space
