Sizwe Banzi is Dead is a play by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona.  AT BAM April 8th -  19th.

Ntshona and Kani together won the Tony for Best Actor in 1974. I saw this play that year at the Edison Theatre and am going to BAM to see it again this week.  Click here for information.

It is the story of Sizwe Banzi, a black man in South Africa who, because of a clerical error on his government required papers, will be forced to work in a township where there are no jobs.  He will have no money to send home to his family.

He and his friend come upon a corpse with valid papers.  The switch is made.  Robert still lives, but must write home to his wife that “Sizwe Banzi is dead.”

It is a brilliant, chilling piece of theatre.  Not unrelated to our lives today.  Go see it if you can.