The tyrant
Written and directed by Xabiso Zweni
Cast: Anele Penny and Xabiso Zweni
Set design: Bantu Dama
Visuals and lighting: Shafiq Kalumo
Stage manager: Mandlakazi Booi
As soon as the theatre was ready for the audience to move in, a young man, dressed in military fatigues, stood in the dead centre of the passageway leading to the door. An EFF flag was draped across his shoulders. He snapped to a smart salute.
We had to walk around him to enter. He kept this pose until the last member of the audience had taken their seat.
- Yes, this play is about an imagined rule under the CIC of the EFF (see below).
- No, it is not.
To limit this play to a single party or person is to miss the entire point of it.
Vocabulary
Most South Africans would understand terms like CIC and EFF when used in one sentence, but since I would hope to see this play being staged in Europe and the USA, I’ll briefly provide some background.
- The African National Congress, or ANC, was to become the best known of the anti-apartheid movements. In 1994, it won a landslide victory in South Africa’s first democratic election. Its leader, Nelson Mandela, became South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
- Julius Malema joined the ANC at a very young age and became the leader of the ANC Youth League. He was a firebrand, asking for the nationalisation of mines and banks. He also said land should simply be taken away from its owners without compensation.
- The ANC has a proud history, but it struggled to make the transition from a loose movement fighting apartheid to a disciplined political party.
- When Jacob Zuma was elected to lead the ANC, this once-proud movement began to collapse. Zuma became embroiled in major corruption cases, many of which are still not finalised. Malema was one of Zuma’s most vocal supporters, but when their relationship turned sour, Malema stormed out of the ANC and founded his own political movement, called the Economic Freedom Fighters, or the EFF.
- The EFF tried to emulate the structures of the anti-apartheid movements by adopting a laughable military-style “command”. They wore red berets, and Julius Malema, the leader, became known as the commander in chief, or CIC.
- Malema is known to sing songs like “Shoot the boer” at political rallies.
- Like Elon Musk, Malema allegedly made public the personal details of those who dared to oppose him.
Back to the play
The tyrant is set in the near future, roughly four years from now. The CIC of the EFF is in charge of Azania, the new name for South Africa, and all the neighbouring countries, which have been forced into a group of united states, with one language (English) and one currency.
The CIC took charge of South Africa after leading a successful coup, before invading the neighbouring countries. White people were kindly given two months to get out. Things did not go well for those (black) people who remained. All the wealth went to the top leaders, and the overwhelming majority are facing desperate poverty in this imagined present. To fight the unbearable situation, a rebel group was formed to oppose the CIC and to restore dignity for ordinary citizens. This movement is simply called “the resistance”.
We meet the characters
As we entered the venue, a person (played by Anele Penny) in torn battle fatigues walked up and down on stage. At times, he goose-stepped like soldiers from Russia, or played the harmonica; at other times, he seemed to be in agony, lying on a table and thumping his stomach.
The set resembled a shambolic military hideout, with uniforms and various bits of equipment strewn about. A somewhat simple jingle kept repeating, listing the names of countries in southern Africa. This happened while the South African flag was portrayed on a screen. Eventually, the face of the CIC (Julius Malema) appeared. Calls for the expropriation of land and the killing of the “boer” were heard.
Then the other actor, played by Xabiso Zweni, entered. He was dressed in military step-outs, the smart office uniforms worn by senior military personnel who only do office work. On his tunic were a number of self-styled insignia. He claimed to be a lieutenant and insisted on being addressed as such, but when he removed his jacket, he wore the two stripes of a corporal.
As an aside: it was not too uncommon in the armies of South Africa’s so-called homelands, or in other African countries that were becoming independent, to see coup leaders rapidly jumping military ranks.
The telescreen
Anyone who has read George Orwell’s Nineteen eighty-four would recognise the “telescreen” in the play. The telescreens in Orwell’s novel played propaganda and hate messages. They were very similar to what we see in The tyrant. This is a clever device, as it intertextually ties the play to another well-known tyrant, Big Brother.
The tyrant holds universal truths. During the first part of the play, the telescreen preached propaganda. Later, it projected messages of hate – just like Orwell used to imagine them. The hate messages in The tyrant were horrific scenes from our own part of the world. The play is universal. Its roots are local.
Two characters with a long history
The smartly dressed “officer” enters with a gift of food, which the shabbily dressed fighter refuses, because his comrades in the resistance are languishing in jail. I will not spoil the story, but the following pointers will hopefully encourage readers to see the play:
- It turns out that these two characters have been part of the armed struggle against apartheid since they were kids.
- It also transpires that they had to partake in a traumatic activity when they were aged 12 and 16 respectively. That day, they had been forced to commit an atrocity by the man who had acted as a father figure and as their military instructor.
- That moment had turned the two boys into close friends, which is the reason why the smartly dressed “officer” has not shared the location of his friend’s hideout. Should that happen, the friend would be shot.
Why is this important? Firstly, Julius Malema was involved in anti-apartheid activities from a very young age, possibly even from before he was ten years old.
Secondly, atrocities did happen during the anti-apartheid struggle, and many veterans carry physical and emotional scars. This is not the place to tell that story. Anyone who wants to read more may start with this article by Thamsanqa D Malinga about Luthando Dyasop, the author of Out of Quatro: From exile to exoneration. One should read Dyasop’s book as well. The tyrant does not try to portray life in Quatro at all. Also, Quatro was not the only place where atrocities happened. I merely use it as a reference point. The tyrant dwells on similar horrors, but again tells its own story.
Fishing
As boys, the two characters were taught how to fish by a man who acted like a father to them. It was to be the same person who would eventually betray them.
Fishing is a leitmotiv that runs through the play. Being able to fish had always been a way of putting food on the table. It is biblical, too: Jesus urges his disciples to become fishers of men (Mark 1:17). In The tyrant, fishing takes on a much darker meaning: it becomes a metaphor for luring unsuspecting people into saying or doing things they will later regret. The two characters are also constantly fishing for information from one another. Each nugget of information is then used against the other as a lure to obtain even more heart-breaking stories.
Sexual abuse under tyranny
I do not want to dwell too much on this topic, because I do not want to give away the story. It is important to know that the character in hiding is hoping to see his girlfriend again, while knowing that she is imprisoned by the “red army”. Both men know that sexual abuse of women is rife. I will not say more. The fishing games by the two men draw old memories from murky waters, many of which are unpleasant.
Tyrants luring others by selling dreams
Why do people follow tyrants? Tyrants often promise big, knowing that they’ll never have to deliver. Tyrants also know how to utilise fear and very genuine concerns. Let us look at why Julius Malema is so keen to take land away from private owners. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi’s book The land is ours is a great resource for those who want to know more.
- Ngcukaitobi starts before the formation of the Union of South Africa, showing how black lawyers engaged the various government officials of the time to create a South Africa where all races could live together and prosper. Instead, the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, and black people were excluded from any real participation in the democratic or legislative processes.
- In 1913, the Native Land Act reduced the land on which black people could live to 7% of the country. Whites were to rule over the other 93%. At that time, Sol Plaatje said that he had become a pariah in his own country. The pass laws and other apartheid laws exploited the act of 1913 and continued to make life for the South African majority even worse as the tyranny of white domination went on.
- While some restitution of land has happened after the fall of apartheid, white people still own most of the private land in South Africa. A part of the problem is the incompetence of the state. Many white owners offered land for sale, only to be frustrated by the lack of willingness from government officials to move on their offers. Yet, the problem is much bigger than that.
Malema is happily exploiting the situation, knowing that a large-scale land grab, as has happened in Zimbabwe, would lead to even more poverty. The problem is that young people with empty stomachs have nothing to lose. They will follow a charismatic leader who promises them the spoils of war.
One may decide not to agree with Malema on many things, but few South Africans would disagree that we need to find better solutions than the ones we have. Many people, including me, actually hoped that Malema would step up to become a strong leader on the left of the ANC. It did not happen. Today, he is just another reactionary on the far right. A friend who represented the ANC in local government said that working with EFF councillors was wonderful – they often were young and principled – but it was impossible to make any political deals with them. The elected councillors would agree on the best way to make the city function, then the CIC would phone and prohibit them from voting for the resolution.
Again, I need to stress that only the obtuse would think this play is merely about Malema. How about other tyrants?
- Idi Amin was a classic example of a charismatic leader who was able to persuade ordinary people to fight with him, hoping to make our world a better place. Some of Amin’s early speeches were truly inspirational; one wanted to believe that a strong African leader with a vision for Africa had finally arisen. Sadly, Amin became one the continent’s brutal tyrants, earning himself the nickname “the butcher of Uganda”.
- Or what about Muammar Gaddafi? He believed in a united Africa, one that would represent all Africans, one that would have the power to oppose colonial bullies. Some of the words the fictional CIC spoke in The tyrant were rather similar to Gaddafi’s vision. Gaddafi’s words were wonderful, yet his own citizens knew him as a brutal tyrant.
- The character working for the red army wears a Hitler moustache and performs the Nazi salute.
- Some background reading into the coups and attempted coups in South Africa’s “homelands” during the apartheid years may also bring moments of recognition.
- More recently, Donald Trump promised to “make America great again”. Many people fell for his cheap talk, then voted an unchecked tyrant into power. The consequences are dire.
The tyrant is a play about friendship
The tyrant is a brave political play, yet it is more than that. It also portrays two people who have been friends for years.
- One has chosen to follow the tyrant. He seems to have a good life, but in reality he survives on pills and alcohol.
- The other has chosen to oppose the tyrant. We meet him in bad circumstances, knowing that his death is likely to come soon. Morally, he has the higher ground, but he certainly doesn’t have the easier life.
Politics can shred friendships. But friendship can also have unintended consequences, even in the worst of times. I will not say more. See the play.
The tyranny of forgetting and betrayal
The ANC is the one liberation movement most South Africans are familiar with nowadays. But what about the others? Azapo and the PAC opposed apartheid as well. Who remembers them and their members? Is this, in part, because some of their members refused to divulge their secrets to the ANC and its allies? The play suggests that.
Not easy, but worth it
The tyrant deals with extremely harsh and difficult topics. The hate messages broadcast on the Orwellian telescreen are disturbing at times.
Yet, there is more to this play than hate. I do not want to give the story away, but the two characters are like boxers circling. They are the best of friends. They are the worst of enemies. The plot twists are something to experience. See the play before someone blurts out the storyline.
And again: it would be wrong to think the play is merely bashing the EFF. This play is about the tyranny committed by anyone who has too much power, anyone who disregards human rights.
The tyrant does not provide easy answers either. Owning the moral high ground does not automatically bring loved ones back, for instance.
Our own choices
Should one follow the tyrant, or should one follow one’s conscience? Is our conscience the worst tyrant of all? Or might the lack of a moral backbone be the real tyrant?
The tyrant was commissioned by the Mandela Bay Theatre Complex, thanks to the Isakhono Theatre Fellow Award. It also won a Standard Bank Ovation Award. The play received a standing ovation in Gqeberha during the Mandela Bay Arts Festival.
The next show is on 1 March 2025 at 14:00.
- Photography: Izak de Vries