It’s 1972 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and Sizwe Banzi’s passbook gives him just three days to find work. No work and he’ll be deported. That was four days ago.
So when Sizwe stumbles across a dead body with a passbook, he asks himself – does his identity card really define who he is? Could he give up his family and his name in order to survive?
Genesis Future Directors Award winner Matthew Xia directs this momentous, Tony-nominated play which exposes the struggle for freedom and identity in apartheid-era South Africa, unravelling the brutal absurdities of everyday life under oppression. Featuring astonishing performances from Sibusiso Mamba and Tonderai Munyevu.
An Eclipse Theatre Company & Young Vic co-production
Company
Cast Sibusiso Mamba & Tonderai Munyevu
Devised by Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona
Reviews
Sizwe Banzi is Dead
"Terrific and terrifically engaging performances"
The Guardian
Sizwe Banzi is Dead
★★★★
"The sheer quality of the writing and the acting in Matthew Xia’s meticulously detailed and wonderfully acted production grips throughout"
The Telegraph
Sizwe Banzi is Dead
"An engaging and important journey from start to finish"
A Younger Theatre
