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SA Indian's play against racial discrimination revived after 25 years

Fakir Hassen in Durban

A play by a South African Indian, banned during the apartheid era, made a surprise comeback to the stage after 25 years to coincide with the World Conference on Racism.

South African Indian playwright and actor Kessie Govender still remembers how apartheid era security police harassed him and forced the closure of his play Working Class Hero in 1976.

The play addressed a theme that was taboo to the government of the time -- racial discrimination.

Last Saturday, Govender ended a week long run of the play, at the Playhouse, and although there was no opposition from any quarter this time round, Govender said the inherent theme of the play was still relevant in democratic South Africa.

Working Class Hero tells the tale of Indian exploitation of the African community, in an amusing but somewhat dark style of comedy.

"The restaging offers opportunity to highlight the progress -- or lack thereof -- that South Africans have achieved in coming to grips with the thorny issue of racism, which still plagues this rainbow nation," said director Govender.

Govender himself plays an African labourer, Frank, who works on a building construction site. His Indian co-workers in the play have different views on the relationship between the local Indian community and the African majority, both subjected to harsh apartheid laws.

As the play progresses, supervisor Jits (Thirugesan Govender), bricklayer Siva (Rajesh Maharaj) and part-time student Anand (Santhiran Moonsamy) engage with Frank on the prejudices and politics within their respective communities.

The Indians abuse Frank, as was indeed the custom at the time among many Indian families who saw blacks as only good for menial labour, a perception perpetuated by the ruling white minority for decades.

Anand, who is a more politically aware member of the Indian community through his student activist connections, is uncomfortable with the way his co-workers treat Frank.

Anand's views make the other Indians on the site look at their attitudes anew. But then a white building inspector arrives, to complicate things even further.

Delegates from many countries at the Racism Conference who came to see it acclaimed Working Class Hero.

The play ran into trouble initially with security police when it was first launched not long after the 1976 Soweto uprising by students opposing the forced use of the Afrikaan language of the white minority as a medium of instruction in schools.

Indo-Asian News Service

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