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Isidlamlilo/the fire eater
Paperback
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- Book Synopsis
- Isidlamlilo / The Fire Eater is a one-woman play inspired by the true story of a woman who served as a political assassin in the build-up to South Africa's first democratic elections. Zenzile Maseko, the protagonist, is a 60-year-old grandmother living in a women's hostel in Durban. Falsely declared dead by the Department of Home Affairs, she finds herself cast into a Kafkaesque nightmare that forces her to confront her past. Flown in on the wings of the Impundulu (the lightning bird), in Zulu folklore a shapeshifting bird associated with witchcraft and the harbinger of storms and death, Zenzile's story weaves a magical and terrifying tapestry. She draws on myth, religious symbolism and traditional beliefs as she shares the realities - at times brutal, at times forgiving - of survival in South Africa. Her story touches on what it means to live through political violence, the transition to democracy, the brutality of inequality, health epidemics like HIV/AIDS, patriarchy, and the apathetic bureaucracy of government departments. Ultimately, Isidlamlilo / The Fire Eater offers a critical and unflinching look at the eddying cycles of violence and revenge that play out across generations. Yet it is most of all a story about regeneration and redemption that speaks to both the country's haunted past and its present-day complexities. Written with pathos and empathy, this playscript will appeal to teachers, high school learners, and tertiary students in theatre, drama and English studies.
- About The Author
- Neil Coppen is a playwright and theatre-maker from KwaZulu-Natal. He is a co-founder of Empatheatre and was awarded the 2019 Olive Schreiner Prize for Drama for Tin Bucket Drum.
- Product Details
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- ISBN
- 9781776148790
- Format
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Wits University Press, (01 April 2024)
- Number of Pages
- 128
- Weight
- 136 grams
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 190 x 120 x 15 mm
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