“Life is mirrored in the theatre of the times.”
This quote is evidently true in the play Woza Albert written by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni and Barney Simon in 1983, which is during the time of apartheid in South Africa. This play is a Satirical Comedy set in the time of apartheid in South Africa and Morena (Jesus) comes to save them from the injustices and cruelty of this dark time in our history. This essay will show how the context of the play is seen in the themes and messages of the play.
Throughout Woza Albert, the stories of many different struggling, apartheid effected, people are told. This is very important as is was what was happening in real life at this time in South Africa, many on the stories were in fact true and happening to many a people. This play is a very sad and glum play but the seriousness is covered by the comedy of it, and instead of being a tragedy; it is entertaining but with a deep message behind it of the struggles of apartheid. When Morena comes into Woza Albert, it is a miracle as Jesus is what they need to put the injustices away and make it a fair and liberal country, to bring up all the noble and heroic people in South Africa that died to help make it a peaceful country. The themes of depression, desperation, cruelty, injustice and anxiety are counteracted with humour, and most importantly, hope. That’s what is so great about this play, its entertaining, exciting and funny but it leaves you thinking. It gets the message across without lecturing the audience, which makes it such a great play that will be remembered throughout the history of South Africa.
“Life is mirrored in the theatre of time.” Is a quote that fits perfectly with this play as it shows the hard ships the people of South Africa had, but also the hope they had. The faith that South Africa will prevail and be great again, the love they had not to give up on this beautiful country.
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