Bashebeng-Look at them

BLACKS DONT CRY

 "The subject of the play is the governing party and the poor quality of life black people are subjected and accustomed to everyday under the black leadership.The play grapples with the stubborn persistence of failure and lack of accountability on the part of the powers that be. It also looks at the effects of corruption and looting of money and the constant abuse of power by the ruling party and what it all means for economic underclasses and foot soldiers who are carriers of generations of grief, sorrow and the continuous trauma that comes with being black.

The relative success of the production lays in the entire ensemble from writing,staging,acting and
directing.
The play displayed nonconformist narratives that underlined the struggles of black men in past,
present and future in the truest form
The play formed part of the Siyazikhakhazisa Theatre Festival held at Breytenbach Theatre
in Pretoria.It features actors: Siphiwe Phiri who plays the character of (Moreki/
Tshepang), a heavily indebted spender who drowns his sorrows in alcohol, that only offers
him temporary relief. We are also introduced to Remaketsi Ntoi who portrays the character
of (Morena/Moruti) the forever righteous believer of Jesus of Nazareth and only bread winner
in his family.Then there is Thabang Nkhoeli who plays the character of lone but self-aware
(Thabo/Journalist) who hides his pain in books. Lastly the character of (Linda) played by Linda
Wa Ka Shabangu who covers his deep wounds by always being the neutral middle man.These
characters depict the current political,social and economic situation in the country as it is. Their
performance captures the important part of the realities of the current state of affairs of black
men in the republic.
Their interaction within the workspace aids the characters to have difficult but meaningful
conversations that reveal the passing sense of what it means to belong.Their identity is put into
question everyday due to the existence as black people.They are living in dire conditions with
horrors happening to many other people in their immediate surroundings on a daily basis.They
fight heavy battles to survive.
The play reminds us that the black nation is the kind of being who isn’t really human, the kind
with no value and easily dispensable. When one looks at what is written on the Freedom Charter
things should have changed,starting from the moment Nelson Mandela went in office all the way
to our current leadership.The matter is not personal against the ruling party, but an interpretation
and evaluation of the condition of the “broke broken black” people. It exposes the festering
wounds that are covered up by the idea of the rainbow nation.
Why must the truth be hidden. How long should the black child continue to suffer while the elite
are living lavishly at the expense of others. While they are concerned with their own struggles,
the black condition ranges in a manner that will have a historically lasting impact on the coming
generation.
Blacks don’t cry is a theatre production written by Linda Wa Ka Shabangu and directed by Thabo
Motshabi. It is set in modern day South Africa and highlights the lives of four black men who are
troubled by the lingering effects of ‘apartheid’ and ‘colonialism’ within the declared postcolonial
and post-apartheid South Africa under the governance and leadership of the African National
Congress (ANC)-unedited by Nkele Matlhoana