YOU STRIKE A WOMAN, YOU STRIKE A ROCK/ WATHINT' ABAFAZI, WATHINT' IMBOKOTHO

68pp., illus., paperback, Johannesburg, 2021

A play set in a Cape Town township, about three women trying to eke out a living at the height of apartheid.

Created in ensemble fashion in 1986 by director Phyllis Klotz in collaboration with performers Thobeka Maqhutyana, Nomvula Qosha and Poppy Tsira. Introduction by Sarah Roberts.

The play takes its title from the famous slogan used during the 1956 Women's March against apartheid laws.

"Still SA’s most important play, Wathint’… says more about theatre history and the dompas system, women’s rights and the romance of rehearsing in a toilet, than any formal text. A brave, rude foray into street life, it shimmers with relevance." Robyn Sassen, independent critic

"Engaging storytelling that captures the pathos of the period and of today, as the past continues to live in our present. It is the best of stylised theatre that is not dependent on elaborate sets. It is a worthy addition to South African dramatic literature and enriched by Sarah Robert’s scholarly yet accessible analysis." Zakes Mda, author of Ways of Dying and The Heart of Redness