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The Market Theatre Presents: ...STRANGE LAND...

In 1966, Dimitri Tsafendas assassinated Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the founder and architect of Apartheid. Whether this was an act motivated by madness, or whether it was an action inspired by a political consciousness has been the subject of debate for decades. Was Tsafendas a confused loner, or was he a courageous freedom fighter? Strange Land is a thoroughly researched production that presents the possibility that the deeply troubled Tsafendas may have been a sane man living in a strange land.

Strange Land formerly called Tsafendas is an important work which seeks to restore South Africa’s repressed memory, while reflecting on contemporary concerns around issues of racial identification. It builds on the iconic docudrama Living in Strange Land (2001), which has been revised and extended to reflect new information which has since come to light regarding Dimitri Tsafendas.

Incorporating archival texts from the life and trial of Tsafendas, this docudrama uses verbatim theatre and a shifting backdrop projected images and texts from his life to portray Tsafendas struggling to find a place for himself in a world which has excluded him. The play is a moving journey through the life of an outsider who is ostracised, frequently alone; a man driven to commit a desperate action for which he was to suffer for the rest of his life.

The text draws on extensive first-hand archival research, as well as works such as Liza Key’s television documentary, A Question of Madness, Penny Siopis installation “Obscure White Messenger”, Henk van Woerden’s A Mouthful of Glass, and The Man Who Killed Apartheid: The Life of Dimitri Tsafendas by Harris Dousemetzis.

Anton Krueger’s text of the original play was published as Living in Strange Land: The Testimony of Dimitri Tsafendas in 2003 by Playscripts, New York. It has been performed in several venues across South Africa, as well as in Buenos Aries and Caracas. The text was also adapted as a Radio Drama and broadcast on SAFM in 2019. Later this year, a Portuguese version will premiere in Brazil.

Strange Land, written by prolific South African playwright Anton Krueger, will star award winning actor Renos Spanoudes in a heart wrenching performance. The production is directed by the Standard Bank Young Artist (2016), Jade Bowers, as a reworked and reimagined historical production.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION:

Playwright Anton Krueger
Director Jade Bowers
Lighting Designer Nomvula Molepo
Set Designer Nthabiseng Malaka
Costume Designer Jade Bowers
Stage Manager Malebo Mokoto
Composer/ Sound Design Yogin Sullaphen

This is a recording of the production at The Barney Simon Theatre, Market Theatre, Johannesburg, which ran from 24 May - 16 June, 2019.

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa, Senior Publicist
Market Theatre 011 832 1641 ext 202
[email protected]