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137 pages

English

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Description

This collection of satirical sketches takes readers on a sometimes cynical, sometimes hilarious trip through many of the issues that face democratic South Africa.
Bafana Republic and Other Satires is a selection of monologues from a series of one-person satirical revues. Using the 2010 FIFA World Cup as an entry point for satirical commentary, the sketches focus with piercing humour on various issues facing democratic South Africa: state ‘vanity’ projects, land issues, abuse of women and state capture. In any deeply polarised society, satire provides an effective means for challenging audiences. Van Graan’s potent mix of comedy, poetry and drama compels audiences to reflect on controversial topics in a non-alienating, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining way. Readers will laugh and cringe and sometimes cry, but one thing they will not be able to do is remain unaffected.
The sketches in the collection come from six one-person revues: Bafana Republic (2007), Bafana Republic: Extra Time (2008), Bafana Republic: Penalty Shootout (2009), Pay Back the Curry (2016), State Fracture (2017) and Land Acts (2018). The compilation can be used as monologues for exam purposes or as acting exercises for drama students, or selections can be made from the sketches to make up one-person shows of varying lengths.
Introduction

Outline of sketch characters, themes, background and context

Glossary of terms and translations

Acronyms

Play 1: Bafana Republic (2007)

Sketch 1: Interview with the CEO of the South African Football Association

Sketch 2: Chardonnay

Sketch 3: PAHAD representative

Sketch 4: Bhamjee

Sketch 5: Kabouter Basson

Sketch 6: Bafana Idols

Play 2: Bafana Republic: Extra Time (2008)

Sketch 1: World Cup ambassador, Hayi Buti

Sketch 2: Reality show medley

Sketch 3: American and Frenchie on safari

Sketch 4: AA on-screen fillers

Sketch 5: A man’s game

Sketch 6: ABC take-out

Sketch 7: Security chief

Sketch 8: Bafana election fever

Sketch 9: Vuvuzela salesman

Sketch 10: Whinge

Sketch 11: Stand-up comic

Play 3: Bafana Republic: Penalty Shootout (2009)

Sketch 1: Toilet cleaner

Sketch 2: Estate agent 1

Sketch 3: False prophet

Sketch 4: Madonna of Africa

Sketch 5: Disabled

Sketch 6: Jimmy Blond

Sketch 7: School for African dictators

Sketch 8: Dog shrink

Play 4: Pay Back the Curry (2016)

Sketch 1: Time travel

Sketch 2: Fly SAA

Sketch 3: Fallism

Sketch 4: And the Oscar goes to …

Sketch 5: Born free

Sketch 6: Weekend special

Sketch 7: I am an African

Sketch 8: Estate agent 2

Sketch 9: So-calleds

Sketch 10: Blame apartheid

Sketch 11: The Met

Sketch 12: Julius

Sketch 13: Rainbow song

Play 5: State Fracture (2017)

Sketch 1: Saxonwold shebeen

Sketch 2: Trumple-thin-Skin

Sketch 3: Chicken shite

Sketch 4: Hello, looter

Sketch 5: Blacks adopted by whites anonymous

Sketch 6: Pastor Hlaudi, the miracle worker

Sketch 7: ABBA medley

Sketch 8: Some black lives matter

Sketch 9: Stand-up on privilege

Sketch 10: The Helen Zille School of Good Colonialism

Sketch 11: Social cohesion

Sketch 12: Social media rollercoaster

Sketch 13: The patriot

Sketch 14: No Zuma, no cry

Play 6: Land Acts (2018)

Sketch 1: Derya Hanekom

Sketch 2: Give me a sign, Julius

Sketch 3: Middle finger for the natives

Sketch 4: McDonald’s farm

Sketch 5: A promise fulfilled

Sketch 6: Car guard

Sketch 7: Australian refuge

Sketch 8: A dog’s life

Sketch 9: What a wonderful world

Sketch 10: Shakespeare in love

Sketch 11: Ode to WaNkandla

Sketch 12: Football match

Sketch 13: Imagine

Sujets

Littérature Africaine

General officer

General

Informations

Publié par	WITS University Press
Date de parution	01 juin 2020
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9781776146383
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0900€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Bafana Republic and Other Satires
A collection of monologues and revues
Mike van Graan
Published in South Africa by:
Wits University Press
1 Jan Smuts Avenue
Johannesburg 2001
www.witspress.co.za
Compilation Mike van Graan 2020
Published edition Wits University Press 2020
Cover image Stephanie Papini
First published 2020
http://dx.doi.org.10.18772/32020065867
978-1-77614-586-7 (Paperback)
978-1-77614-587-4 (Web PDF)
978-1-77614-638-3 (EPUB)
978-1-77614-588-1 (Mobi)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act, Act 98 of 1978.
For more information and background on the shows, including different seasons of the shows and reviews, see www.mikevangraan.co.za . For the rights to perform the sketches for paying audiences, contact the writer through the website.
Project manager: Lisa Compton
Copyeditor: Alison Lowry
Proofreader: Lisa Compton
Cover design: Hybrid Creative
Typeset in 10.5 point Minion Pro
Contents
Introduction
Outline of sketch characters, themes, background and context
Glossary of terms and translations
Acronyms and abbreviations
Play 1: Bafana Republic (2007)
Sketch 1: Interview with the CEO of the South African Football Association
Sketch 2: Chardonnay
Sketch 3: PAHAD representative
Sketch 4: Bhamjee
Sketch 5: Kabouter Basson
Sketch 6: Bafana Idols
Play 2: Bafana Republic: Extra Time (2008)
Sketch 1: World Cup ambassador, Hayi Buti
Sketch 2: Reality show medley
Sketch 3: American and Frenchie on safari
Sketch 4: AA on-screen fillers
Sketch 5: A man s game
Sketch 6: ABC take-out
Sketch 7: Security chief
Sketch 8: Bafana election fever
Sketch 9: Vuvuzela salesman
Sketch 10: Whinge
Sketch 11: Stand-up comic
PLAY 3: BAFANA REPUBLIC: PENALTY SHOOTOUT (2009)
Sketch 1: Toilet cleaner
Sketch 2: Estate agent 1
Sketch 3: False prophet
Sketch 4: Madonna of Africa
Sketch 5: Disabled
Sketch 6: Jimmy Blond
Sketch 7: School for African dictators
Sketch 8: Dog shrink
Play 4: Pay Back The Curry (2016)
Sketch 1: Time travel
Sketch 2: Fly SAA
Sketch 3: Fallism
Sketch 4: And the Oscar goes to
Sketch 5: Born free
Sketch 6: Weekend special
Sketch 7: I am an African
Sketch 8: Estate agent 2
Sketch 9: So-calleds
Sketch 10: Blame apartheid
Sketch 11: The Met
Sketch 12: Julius
Sketch 13: Rainbow song
Play 5: State Fracture (2017)
Sketch 1: Saxonwold shebeen
Sketch 2: Trumple-thin-Skin
Sketch 3: Chicken shite
Sketch 4: Hello, looterS
Sketch 5: Blacks adopted by whites anonymous
Sketch 6: Pastor Hlaudi, the miracle worker
Sketch 7: ABBA medley
Sketch 8: Some black lives matter
Sketch 9: Stand-up on privilege
Sketch 10: The Helen Zille School of Good Colonialism
Sketch 11: Social cohesion
Sketch 12: Social media rollercoaster
Sketch 13: The patriot
Sketch 14: No Zuma, no cry
Play 6: Land Acts (2018)
Sketch 1: Derya Hanekom
Sketch 2: Give me a sign, Julius
Sketch 3: Middle finger for the natives
Sketch 4: MacDonald s farm
Sketch 5: A promise fulfilled
Sketch 6: Car guard
Sketch 7: Australian refuge
Sketch 8: A dog s life
Sketch 9: What a wonderful world
Sketch 10: Shakespeare in love
Sketch 11: Ode to WaNkandla
Sketch 12: Football match
Sketch 13: Imagine
Introduction
Description and history
The sketches contained in this collection are derived from six different one-person satirical revues: Bafana Republic (2007), Bafana Republic: Extra Time (2008), Bafana Republic: Penalty Shootout (2009), Pay Back the Curry (2016), State Fracture (2017) and Land Acts (2018).
Except for Land Acts , all of these revues had their first introduction to an audience at the Franschhoek Literary Festival as part of their development.
Again, except for Land Acts , all the satirical revues went through a similar development process. Once I had written the script, the director would rehearse the revue with the actor for a period of three weeks, and then it would be performed at the Franschhoek Literary Festival and in other locations. Audiences were provided with one-page questionnaires through which they were invited to give feedback to each sketch - marking them out of 10, using whatever criteria they wished - with a space for further written feedback on each sketch and to the piece as a whole, including the writing, directing and acting.
As far as possible, and as part of its development, each revue would be performed for audiences that were demographically different, so that, for example, Pay Back the Curry was performed in the Western Cape across several venues: at the Franschhoek Literary Festival, at a private house in Kenilworth, two shows in Delft at the Rainbow Arts Foundation, at the Shack Theatre in Khayelitsha and, for a week, at the Rosebank Theatre.
After each show, I would analyse the feedback gleaned from the questionnaires. On the basis of this analysis, I would amend some sketches, even delete a few, and perhaps change the order so as to ensure a more varied emotional and entertainment journey for the audience through the course of the performance.
The long-suffering directors and actors would have to rework some of the sketches, with the actor having to unlearn many lines, and learn new ones, often before the next development show, where these changes were tested. All saw the value of the process, which, I believe, resulted in Pay Back the Curry achieving a rare feat at its official premiere run on the Fringe of the National Arts Festival in 2016: it sold out all 10 of its shows. Word of mouth had spread because of the development shows, and the first performance at the Festival was sold out before we arrived. The hard work of reworking scripts, with directors and actors revising the performances accordingly, paid off, as the revues were staged more competently and confidently as the development proceeded. Word of mouth continued to ensure that the shows were well attended, and audiences responded enthusiastically.
Land Acts did not go through a similar development process because I was travelling extensively before the premiere of the work at the Kalk Bay Theatre in June 2018. I was literally writing sketches while travelling and sending them to the director and actor so that they could rehearse them. By 2018 Rob van Vuuren (the director), Daniel Mpilo Richards (the performer) and I had built up a sound working relationship so that we were able to get away with this inadequate preparation on my part. I landed back in South Africa on Saturday, 2 June 2018, and the show opened on Tuesday, 5 June 2018 - my first new show where I had not seen one rehearsal before it opened!
Pay Back the Curry had two sold-out seasons at the Kalk Bay Theatre in 2016; the year after that, 2017, saw an excellent run of State Fracture . We had built up a solid audience for these one-person satirical revues so that by the time Land Acts came round, this less-developed show already had a captive audience and the revue was good enough to sell out the rest of the season.
Land Acts was also different from its predecessors in that it was produced by Daniel Mpilo Richards and myself, rather than by Siv Ngesi, who produced and essentially paid for the production costs of Pay Back the Curry and State Fracture . This foursome originally came about because Siv had commissioned me to write a stand-up show for him, which led to Born Free , a reflection on 20 years of democracy. However, Siv was invited to participate in the television reality show Strictly Come Dancing and so was unavailable to do the performance. It was then that we identified and recruited Daniel - who had graduated from drama school a year before - and he replaced Siv.
During the run of Born Free at Artscape's Opera Bar, it was clear that Daniel was far more talented than a stand-up comedy script allowed him to display. This led me to commit to writing a piece which would be a platform to showcase his wide array of singing, acting, accent, movement, guitar-playing and other skills. Pay Back the Curry was this platform, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Given the experience of Bafana Republic 's initial success in 2007, with Lindiwe Matshikiza, I did not expect Daniel to be available for a sequel. However, while he did receive offers to perform in other shows, Daniel chose to continue to be available to perform these one-person revues, both for the adrenalin rush of performing by oneself to a live audience, and for the greater financial rewards that one-person shows bring.
But while Pay Back the Curry, State Fracture and Land Acts represented an excellent trilogy of working relationships between the same three creatives over a period of three years, my own first forays into this genre - one-person, multi-sketch satirical revues - were quite different.
When South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was highly controversial and ignited much debate about huge amounts of public funds being spent on a vanity project as opposed to improving the lives of the majority of the country's citizens. I saw this as an opportunity to use sport as an entry point to make satirical commentary and to pose awkward questions about contemporary South African society. Hence the birth of the Bafana Republic franchise in 2007.
Lara Bye directed the highly talented Lindiwe Matshikiza in the first rendition of Bafana Republic , which went on to win the Best One-Person Show at the South African Comedy Awards. Spurred by the success of this revue, I was keen to write a sequel. However, Lindiwe Matshikiza was not available to do a sequel, having received invitations to undertake other work. I then decided that future sequels would serve a similar purpos