SOWETO'S THEATRE OF RESISTANCE, 1984-1994, Gibson Kente, Matsemela Manaka & Maishe Maponya

293pp., illus., paperback, HSRC Press, Cape Town, 2026

ISBN: 9780796927040

A compelling account of community theatre in Soweto through the work of playwrights Gibson Kente, Matsemela Manaka and Maishe Maponya, from the turbulent resistance years of the 1980s through the transition to democracy in 1994. Xaba demonstrates how each of these theatre makers developed a distinctive theatrical language that combined urgent political critique with innovative performance aesthetics, forging a powerful connection between art and activism and influencing the trajectory of contemporary South African theatre.

"The pioneering work of Gibson Kente, Matsemela Manaka and Maishe Maponya, core subjects of Andile Xaba's book, offers critical excavation, commentary, and appreciation of these theatre-makers' works and their experimental theatre practices that rose after the repression of the Black Consciousness Movement in 1977 to the 1980s insurrection." Ali Khangela Hlongwane, Associate Researcher, History Workshop, Wits University

"Andile Xaba's book ... offers a comprehensive account and in-depth analysis of the work of late, great theatre makers Gibson Kente, Matsemela Manaka, and Maishe Maponya, focusing on their resistance against apartheid. Going beyond this decade to the present, Xaba draws on interviews with today's artists to highlight the impact of these masters on the current generation." Loren Kruger, Professor Emerita, University of Chicago, and author of A Century of South African Theatre

Andile Xaba is a senior lecturer at the University of South Africa. His research interests are South African literature and plays, particularly those produced by Soweto-based playwrights.