Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Glossary and translation
- Images from production
- Ulwembu: the play script
- Prologue: Our story
- Scene 1 Behind the police station
- Scene 2 The police station, captain's office
- Scene 3 The school yard
- Scene 4 Portia's house
- Scene 5 Behind Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 6 Behind Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 7 The police station
- Scene 8 Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 9 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 10 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 11 Portia's house
- Scene 12 Bongani's house
- Scene 13 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 14 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 15 Bongani's house
- Scene 16 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 17 Sipho's room
- Scene 18 Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 19 Captain's office
- Scene 20 Behind the police station
- Scene 21 Bongani's house
- Scene 22 Portia's house
- Scene 23 Captain's office
- Scene 24 Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 25 On the street
- Epilogue: Our story
- Notes
- The Authors
Scene 24 - Emmanuel's sphaza shop
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 May 2019
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Glossary and translation
- Images from production
- Ulwembu: the play script
- Prologue: Our story
- Scene 1 Behind the police station
- Scene 2 The police station, captain's office
- Scene 3 The school yard
- Scene 4 Portia's house
- Scene 5 Behind Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 6 Behind Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 7 The police station
- Scene 8 Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 9 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 10 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 11 Portia's house
- Scene 12 Bongani's house
- Scene 13 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 14 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 15 Bongani's house
- Scene 16 Outside Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 17 Sipho's room
- Scene 18 Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 19 Captain's office
- Scene 20 Behind the police station
- Scene 21 Bongani's house
- Scene 22 Portia's house
- Scene 23 Captain's office
- Scene 24 Emmanuel's sphaza shop
- Scene 25 On the street
- Epilogue: Our story
- Notes
- The Authors
Summary
EMMANUEL's store is burning. A MOB OF ANGRY MEN armed with pangas and knobkerries throws him onto the stage.
ATTACKER 1: We have him. We have the dealer!
ATTACKER 2: Get out of here Kwerekwere!
ATTACKER 1: Burn him!
EMMANUEL: Please … Please … don't …
ATTACKER 3: He's ruining our children's lives.
ATTACKER 2: He must pay. This one must pay now!
EMMANUEL: I've done nothing wrong.
Blue and red siren lights flash on the stage. We hear shots being fired. PORTIA arrives on the scene forcing the mob away from EMMANUEL.
PORTIA: People! People! This man is not a dealer! This is not justice!
ATTACKER 1 [shouting]: Burn him!
ATTACKER 2: Burn the kwerekwere!
PORTIA [addressing the crowd and the audience]: You blame this man for all our problems? How easy it is to blame one man for so many things. So easy to wash your hands clean with another's life. You are quick to judge users and accuse Emmanuel today, but it doesn't seem to bother you, that you are the ones giving our children the money for whoonga. [Beat.] Iqaqa alizizwa ukunuka, none of us is innocent!
CROWD MEMBER [shouting]: But he is a dealer, he must go!
PORTIA: You don't know that. [Beat.] Actually, you know who the real dealers are in D Section. I know there are dealers in this community who pay your children's school fees to buy your loyalty … [Pause.] You can go ahead and blame Emmanuel … you can blame our kids for stealing … you can blame the police for not doing enough, but what do we do with all this blame? We can't eat blame, we can't smoke it, we can't sell it … We just move it around, like we do with the users. We just move them around from one area to the next, because we don't want to deal with the real issues here. What happens to one of us happens to all of us!
PORTIA helps EMMANUEL to his feet.
PORTIA: This problem isn't someone else's. It's all of ours … It's all of ours.
Music rises. THE CROWDS disperse.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- UlwembuEmpatheatre and the Big Brotherhood, pp. 58 - 59Publisher: Wits University PressPrint publication year: 2018