November 13, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
IN 1956 thousands of women marched to Pretoria, bringing to the fore the plight of women in South Africa. Today, 50 years later, the play You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock asks whether their conditions have changed in the new democracy.
The play, now showing at the Market Theatre's Barney Simon Theatre, centres on three black women - Mampompo, played by Connie Chiume; Sdudla, played by Poppy Tsira; and Mambhele, played by Busi Zokufa - who sell their wares on the side of the road.
Their story is one of constant harassment from male customers, stiff competition between themselves and the occasional raid by the apartheid police. But underlying their fears is an unbreakable will to survive, a trait which is manifest in the charming and witty manner the characters go about conducting their business.
To some the story line might be old hat, but the actors put a human face to the overriding daily struggles faced by poor township women. Mambhele is charming with her witty banter and Mampompo possesses a captivating "I have seen it all" character that sometimes leads to cat-fights between the two. Sdudla, on the other hand, is a realistic and prudent individual who has little to say but is experienced enough to see through the "oppressive acts of the white man".
Directed by Phyllis Klotz, the idea for the play came from Itumeleng wa-Lehulere in 1986, who handed over the broad concept to Klotz. She then developed the idea in rehearsal with Tsira, Thobeka Maqhutyana and Nomvula Qosha.
During that time the actors worked under extreme conditions without any financial support and mounting political tension. Rehearsals began in the ladies toilet at St Francis in Langa, Cape Town. The group then found a home at the Community Arts Centre in Woodstock. At the beginning of June 1986 violence erupted in Crossroads and KTC squatter camp and the play's run was stopped as Qosha lived in KTC and the rest of the cast was unable to communicate with her.
Klotz says the history of the play as it has evolved vividly reflects the events of the state of emergency and the conditions under which the lower socio-economic groups lived. "Much has changed in the political arena, but for women suffering under the burden of poverty while raising their children, very little has altered during our 12 years of democracy."
You Strike a Woman, You Strike a Rock is at the Market Theatre to mark the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign against woman and child abuse, which runs from 25 November to 10 December. The play is on until 3 December at the Barney Simon Theatre, at the Market Theatre. Tickets are available at Computicket.
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