मैगज़्टर गोल्ड के साथ असीमित हो जाओ

मैगज़्टर गोल्ड के साथ असीमित हो जाओ

10,000 से अधिक पत्रिकाओं, समाचार पत्रों और प्रीमियम कहानियों तक असीमित पहुंच प्राप्त करें सिर्फ

$149.99
 
$74.99/वर्ष

कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त

The art of making us listen

Mail & Guardian

|

June 06, 2025

Bitter Winter is a reminder that all it takes is two actors, one room and the right words to change the way we see each other

- Keith Bain

A new play by the masterful Paul Slabolepszy is always a cultural event. His latest is in many ways a form of meta-theatre, conveying a deep sense of the tragedy that awaits this country's artists at the tail end of life. But it is also a story of hope for the future.

The trick, of course, is to stretch and expand time. That ability possessed by great writers to use words and dialogue, dramatic conflict and connection to parse open and peer inside those crucial moments between people.

A well-made play goes inside and examines the interior landscape of the human soul and lays it out for an audience in ways that are entertaining, gripping and — if you are very lucky — capable of shifting your understanding of life itself.

A great play puts human beings under a microscope, letting us under their skins, allowing us to see inside their souls so we get an inkling of what it means to be human.

Among the most capable writers practising this sort of literary alchemy, Paul Slabolepszy is a legend of South African stage (and screen), and someone who has consistently placed this country’s people under a microscope and taught audiences something about who we are. And, perhaps even more significantly, who we're capable of being.

That’s what struck me hardest while watching his latest play, a three-hander that debuted in Joburg earlier this year and is showing at the Baxter in Cape Town. It is not merely a dramatisation of an encounter between two very different men, it is in fact a celebration of what ultimately connects them.

It is a play about what we share. And it is a play that makes you want to be a better person, to try harder and to work at looking more deeply into the eyes of other humans — especially strangers and presumed enemies.

Mail & Guardian से और कहानियाँ

Mail & Guardian

Mpondoland at the precipice

Its plight echoes a global call to remember who we are and what we stand to lose

time to read

5 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Namibia shifts gears in its journey to women in power

That changed with Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. When she took the oath of office on 21 March, she did not just become Namibia’s first female president — she recalibrated the country’s idea of who belongs at the top.

time to read

3 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

What Multichoice, Canal + deal means

This is the French media company's largest transaction

time to read

2 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Mail & Guardian

Student wins bullying case

Amara Mooloo says the college launched disciplinary proceedings against her instead of addressing the claims

time to read

5 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Côte d'Ivoire vote relevant for region

Côte d'Ivoire's experience in handling electoral disputes through legal channels demonstrates the rule of law in action

time to read

4 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Mail & Guardian

Paris, death destination of ambassadors past and present

Last week, as Spring dawned, the 5am news bulletin stopped me mid-step en route to my first cup of piping hot coffee.

time to read

6 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Sex pest teacher: Mom speaks out

Bereaved mother recalled her son's 2022 suicide as a 52-year-old former teacher at the school appeared in court this week on 25 counts of indecent assault and sexual assault of young boys

time to read

5 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Walk with us, President Ramaphosa

As with Marikana, the CR17 bank statements and Phala Phala — the biggest scandal of his presidency — Cyril Ramaphosa yet again finds himself in a pickle.

time to read

2 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Mail & Guardian

When the lens sings

Vuyo Giba speaks about archiving South Africa's jazz legacy through black-and-white photography and reflects on Feya Faku's death

time to read

5 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Mail & Guardian

Mail & Guardian

Odinga: the relentless Pan-Africanist

Kenya's Raila Odinga, a pan-Africanist who dominated politics for half a century

time to read

5 mins

M&G 17 October 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size