What type of play is Woza Albert?
Woza Albert! is a political satire that imagines the second coming of Christ during the apartheid era South Africa. It looks at a wide range of characters in South Africa at the beginning of the 1980s and attacks the pass laws that prevented Black people from moving freely at the time.
What is the significance of the title Woza Albert?
''Woza Albert!'' (meaning ''rise up, Albert'') imagines what would happen if Jesus returned to present-day South Africa. The advent of Morena (Lord), as he is called throughout the 90-minute extravaganza, prompts Percy Mtwa and Mbogeni Ngema to flights of comic fancy and also to some moving reflections.
What is the structure of Woza Albert?
Woza Albert! is a unique blend of protest theatre, township theatre and satire. Though they had many ideas for the episodes in the play, they had no structure.
How is Woza Albert relevant today?
Woza Albert! is still a relevant story today and serves as a school set-work in the South African GDE school curriculum. The theatre piece is a great tool in assisting schools with ease of reference, and provides learners with a visual understanding of the book.
What makes Woza Albert a protest play?
The play was written in the Apartheid era, as a form of Protest Theatre, which was confrontational. It brought up the sensitive subjects of Apartheid such as inequality; it gave the audience insight into the true feelings of black people who were in these tough situations.
How does Woza Albert examine identity and social roles?
examine identity and social roles? Woza Albert! explores both identity and social roles as it reveals the oppression inherent in apartheid, shows how an adherence to white identity makes people miss the coming of Christ, and displays the ridiculousness of apartheid.
What are the socio economic and political background of the play Woza Albert?
Apartheid, a system that was social, political, and economic all rolled into one, provides the backdrop to the action of Woza Albert! The play is based on the notion of what would happen if the Second Coming of Christ took place in South Africa under apartheid.
Who are the characters in Woza Albert?
Woza Albert!, a play by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon, is unique in that Percy Mtwa and Mbongeni Ngema are the sole two actors on stage. In the original script of the stage play, they are listed as the official characters, and their actual names are used in the dialogue formatting.
What is the style implemented by actors in Woza Albert?
In the opening one, a Brechtian style set with costumes visible for changes is established; the basic clothes actors wear (allowing their bodies to be the main expressive tool) and an elastic clown nose round their necks for playing elite white men are described.
Why Woza Albert will be suitable choice for a school production?
Answer: Woza Albert is an excellent choice for a school play since it exemplifies invention and inventiveness during a pivotal moment in theatre history. Explanation: Woza Albert is an excellent choice for a school play since it exemplifies invention and inventiveness during a pivotal moment in theatre history.
What is WOZA?
Used especially among Zulu speakers, always in the imperative or subjunctive: 'come', 'come here'.
What inspired Woza Albert?
Inspired by the works and theatre techniques of, for example, Jerzy Grotowski and Peter Brook, Woza Albert! takes place on a bare stage, with no real props. All of the play's characters and situations are acted-out by only two actors (Mtwa and Ngema in the original production).
What was the main idea of Woza Albert?
The main idea of Woza Albert, was however to protest. The play was written in 1981, four years after a petition was signed to abolish the government legislation which prevented white and black audiences and actors to work together. Grotowski was seen as a huge influence on this play.
Who wrote Woza Albert?
Summary, Themes, Characters. Woza Albert! is a satirical play written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon. It was work-shopped and took years of research and input from locals before this masterpiece was performed in The Market Theatre in 1983.
What does drama allow for?
Drama allows for people that aren’t asked to give an opinion, as quoted “Drama gives voice to the voiceless.”
What year was Pearl Jam's Elderly Woman behind the counter?
Pearl Jam's Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town: Setting, Characters, Literary Devices. In 1948 The National party comes into power, which was followed by the Group Areas Act being passed in 1950 (which separated the black people from the whites.)
Why do actors wear pants?
We see this by the actors only wearing pants allowing the rest of their body to be used as a tool and their own techniques to show that there was no shame but was working against inferiority. All of this was seen as someone taking a stand for what they believed in and trying to get the inequality out of the government system; by allowing for mixed audiences and two black actors working with a white man.
How did the Sharpeville massacre affect theatre?
Not long after, the Sharpeville Massacre influenced theatre on a huge scale , allowing a new kind of theatre to be born called Protest Theatre. In 1963 the PACT was formed (Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal.) After the boycott, other countries weren’t proud to be involved with South Africa in any way so South Africa was expelled from the Olympics and it was a shame for the citizens. This actually helped us by forcing South Africans to work through it and attempt to reunite.
What is the play Woza Albert about?
Woza Albert! is a short play set as a series of vignettes that explores the struggles and oppression of black South Africans in the time of apartheid. The play itself consists of actions carried out by two cast members using a sparsely decorated set.
What is the purpose of the satire in the play "Morena"?
The play focuses on the coming of “Morena” (translated to Lord in English) who is Jesus Christ come again and shows how those in the apartheid system react to Christ’s return. The early interviews in scenes 7 through 13 show the reactions of people to the news of Christ’s return. The interviews serve different purposes in showing the thoughts and feelings of South Africans, while also creating a link to future ideas discussed in the play, like communism.
Why is Christ not welcome in South Africa?
He explains using an old story from before colonization to explain that Christ will not be welcome in South Africa because those in power do not want his message to come into conflict with the Apartheid. His prediction comes true when Christ is later arrested for being an “agitator” and held in various prisons.
What is the genre of Woza Albert?
Genre. Political satire|Workshop. Setting. South Africa. Woza Albert! ("Come Albert!") is a satirical South African political play written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon in 1981. The play is a two-man show that contains 26 vignettes. The play imagines the second coming of Jesus Christ during the apartheid -era as experienced by ...
What is a workshop theater?
Woza Albert! is an example of Workshop Theater which was a common form of performance in South Africa at the time as it allowed people to come together to create a performance that they were passionate about, as it featured black playwrights and a white producer. This was also important as other forms of expression and criticism were banned at the time.
What is the play Woza Albert about?
The Play was written during the Apartheid era, as a form of Protest Theatre. Woza Albert looks at the lives of black South Africans and the realities of Apartheid. The play-acts as a response to Apartheid.
What is the meaning of the play "Woza Albert"?
Woza Albert and its message stands against white supremacy, normal slavery as well as the oppressed and oppressors.
What language was Woza Albert performed in?
The play used many languages, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu thus it was imperative that Woza Albert incorporated a strong physical element.
What is the best example of anti-apartheid theatre?
Woza Albert remains one of the best examples of satirical anti-apartheid South African Theatre. The piece is a worked shopped play and the production was not scripted, the actors drew on observations made to create the characters through improvisations.
Why is Woza Albert episodic?
Because of language barrier created the physical representation of the words made the play accessible to all on an international level. Woza Albert is episodic meaning the scenes do not follow according to normal time and the structure is not realistic. The cast was small and versatile.
What is the purpose of the protest theatre?
Protest theatre is utilized to protest against and call for social transformation and a change to the Apartheid-state. Woza Albert is aimed at inciting revolt and action. It was used as a means to criticize the whites and the way in which they were oppressing the blacks.
Overview
Woza Albert! ("Come Albert!") is a satirical South African political play written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema, and Barney Simon in 1981. The play is a two-man show that contains 26 vignettes. The play imagines the second coming of Jesus Christ during the apartheid-era as experienced by a variety of black South Africans. Written as a piece of protest theater, Woza Albert! sought to confront the inequalities and oppression of apartheid South Africa. Woza Alber…
Plot
The two actors play roles of various black South Africans – a vendor, barber, servant, manual labourer, soldier – receiving the news that Christ (Morena) has arrived in South Africa, where a Calvinist white elite imposes apartheid. Christ's arrival precipitates a crisis, and the government launches a nuclear bomb against the peacemaker. In the ruins, great South African leaders in resistance to apartheid such as Albert Luthuli, former president of the African National Congress, …
›Composition
The idea for the work came from Percy Mtwa and Mbogeni Ngema in 1979 when they were both on tour, as lead performers, in a major Gibson Kente production, Mama and the Load. The actors became intrigued by the idea of what would happen if there was a 'second coming' and Jesus Christ appeared in South Africa. In order to develop their idea, both actors abandoned the security of work with Kente and spent a year researching and developing their play in conditions of consi…
Performance history
Woza Albert! is an example of Workshop Theater which was a common form of performance in South Africa at the time as it allowed people to come together to create a performance that they were passionate about, as it featured black playwrights and a white producer. This was also important as other forms of expression and criticism were banned at the time.
The play opened at Johannesburg's Market Theater and toured in Europe and America. The Mark…
Film
A film was made under the same title, following the success of the play. A team from BBC Television, led by David M. Thompson, undertook the filming of the movie while in South Africa to film elections in 1981. Equipment was scant, as was time, but nonetheless the film captured the performances that are the core of the film.
External links
• WOZA ALBERT! Salem
• British Theatre Guide