By Langelihle Elsie Skade
In a country that continues to struggle with the after effects of apartheid, South African theatre has a crucial role to play in freeing us from these struggles. In theatre, there is freedom of expression, and no hierarchy. It’s all about doing what you love and sharing it with the rest of the world. Mike van Graan, one of South Africa’s most innnovative and prolific theatre makers, says theatre is not just a space for performance but it can also be used to educate each other.
“Theatre is a form through which you can humanise characters you don’t often see. The characters on stage perform things that the audience can resonate with as human beings.”
As a playwright, producer, and cultural activist, Van Graan advocates for equality and freedom of expression. For 30 years he has been involved in cultural policy, advocacy, and building artistic networks. He is also involved in various capacities with the government, advising the government, or running NGOs. During Covid-19, he launched Sustaining Theatre and Dance Theatre (STAND), as a way of supporting the theatre and dance sector.
“We as people in the theatre space need to be there, pushing back against the barriers to freedom of expression. Making sure that the constitutional principle of freedom of expression is upheld and practised. The best way to advance freedom of expression and to defend it is to practise it.”
Van Graan has four plays which are currently active: The Good White, To Life with Love, I Can Buy Myself Flowers, and So Over the Rainbow.
“The Good White is a piece that looks at the non-racial project 31 years into our democracy. It poses questions based on the vision for a change post-apartheid, and a progressive society post-apartheid.”
To Life with Love is a play that talks about the end of life. Van Graan says that the more we are able to accept that our lives will come to an end, the more we will be able to live fruitfully.
So Over the Rainbow, and I Can Buy Myself Flowers, are part of the 2025 National Arts Festival offerings. So Over the Rainbow speaks to women who feel oppressed by patriarchy, and I Can Buy Myself Flowers highlights marginalisation, inequality, and class.
Performing these plays via theatre helps advocate for the social justice that South Africans continue to need post-apartheid. Each piece written by Van Graan provokes thought, and is about catalysing discussion; about challenging audiences to reconsider current social norms.
“The ideas that we have, the values that we have, are built up over decades of socialisation through our families, through education, and through our faith institutions. Even though one piece of theatre is not going to change people’s minds overnight, it can challenge them and provide an alternative in a concerted, thought-through way.
