A play within a play

[Andy Grewar]

Dear Moira

"The Island" is a tragi-comic two-hander originally workshopped in
1973 by Athol Fugard with John Kani and Winston Ntshona, the two
actors who also performed the better-known play "Sizwe Bansi is
Dead."  In 1975 "The Island" played in South Africa, the United
States, and Australia.  During their USA tour, Kani and Ntshona
received Tony awards for their Broadway performances.

The two plays were published together:

    _Sizwe Bansi is Dead, and The Island_, by Athol Fugard, John
        Kani and Winston Ntshona (New York: Viking Press, 1976).
        ISBN 0670647845

Last year, "The Island" was performed again by Winston Ntshona and
John Kani for the first time in two decades, at the National Arts
Festival in Grahamstown.  Days before, they had given a special
performance for President Nelson Mandela, a performance which
must have had a particular poignancy, given its subject and its
audience.

I hope this is useful.  Sincere good wishes from the South to the
North!

Andy Grewar

> Date sent:      Wed, 5 Jun 1996 22:13:19 -0600 (CST)
> From:           Moira Day <moiraday at duke.usask.ca>
> To:             Andy Grewar <andy at GREWAR.RU.AC.ZA>
> Subject:        Re: A play within a play

> Dear Andy,
>     Our library doesn't have a copy of this play yet. Is it in print?
> And if so, where can I find it? Do you have more information on it?
>
> Moira Day
> Department of Drama
> University of Saskatchewan
> Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
> S7N 0W0
> CANADA
>
> On Fri, 24 May 1996, Andy Grewar wrote:
>
> > Another interesting recent play with this feature is South
> > African playwright Athol Fugard's play _The Island_, about how
> > political prisoners on Robben Island stage Sophocles' _Antigone_.
> > It raises very interesting issues about the function of drama.
> >
> > Andy Grewar,    Academic Development Centre
> >                 University of Fort Hare
> >                 Alice, East Cape
> >                 South Africa
> >
> >                 e-mail:GREWAR at ufhcc.ufh.ac.za