Renowned South African playwright, novelist, director and actor Athol Fugard died recently.

Fugard—well known for productions such as Sizwe Bansi is Dead, which has been adapted for the stage by several theatre practitioners in the country—died at the age of 92.

Sizwe Bansi is Dead was written by Fugard in collaboration with John Kani and Winston Ntshona and it follows Sizwe Bansi as desperate times cause him to shed his name and adopt the identity of a dead man.

Fugard wrote the play while working as a law clerk at Native Commissioner’s Court in Johannesburg in South Africa. Due to the South African Pass Laws, which aimed to segregate working class black men, every black man was legally obligated to carry a passbook that would limit his employment and travel throughout the country.

The opening scene takes place in photographer Style’s studio in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. Styles is reading a news article about an automobile plant and he tells the audience a funny story about his time working at Ford Motor Company.

He expresses desire to preserve the images of his people.

This two-act play was staged by Misheck Mzumara, who is currently in United States of America pursuing further studies, and Thlupego Chisiza [now dead] in 2015 at Nanzikambe Arts Theatre in Naperi, Blantyre, then.

The play went on a tour across the country before being restaged in 2017.

Mzumara played Sizwe Bansi whereas Thlupego took two roles; those of Styles and Buntu.

The two revisited the production, saying its story was still relevant.

Mzumara says he has come to realise that Fugard’s plays were deeply rooted in the socio-political landscape of the apartheid era and that they offered profound insights that transcend their original context and resonate in contemporary Malawi.

“His works address themes such as oppression, abuse of power and the resilience of the human spirit—issues that closely mirror the challenges we face today,” he said.

Mzumara, who is passionate about theatre, said in Malawi, corruption and the misuse of power have significantly impeded development and the equitable distribution of resources.

A report then highlighted that the fight against corruption in Malawi would require legal, political and citizen action, emphasising the need for systematic change and, so, motivated by this, Mzumara and Thlupego embarked on a nationwide tour with Sizwe Bansi is Dead.

Additionally, with Thokozani Kapiri, who is a drama lecturer at the University of Malawi in Zomba, they staged The Island in Lilongwe and Mzuzu.

Mzumara said the plays depict the dehumanising effects of systematic oppression and the struggle for dignity under unjust systems.

“They serve as powerful mirrors for us, reflecting our own experiences with governance and societal challenges,” he said.

By engagin