This semester, the theater department at Texas A&M will be putting on the production: My Children! My Africa! written by Athol Fugard. Here is a quick synopsis of the play:
Set in 1984, at the height of the student uprisings again the government’s oppressive apartheid system, the play revolves around the budding and unlikely friendship between the privileged yet down-to earth White student Isabel Dyson , and the brilliant Black student-activist Thami Mbikwana. They’re paired up to train for a national scholastic competition under the direction of teacher Anela Myalatya .
Myalatya, or Mr. M as the students call him, has been mentoring Thami and considers him his most talented pupil. Thami and Isabel respect each other’s intellect and the bright-eyed and enthusiastic Isabel welcomes every challenge presented to her by Thami. When Isabel happily talks about her journalist aspirations, Thami tells her that dreams of higher education and future success are luxuries young Black South Africans cannot afford.
“Hope is a beast that is hungry but it is a beast all the same,” says the teacher Mr. M, and he fears the animal will devour all of South Africa’s young people. He and Thami clash—Thami complains that Mr. M clings to the old ways and doesn’t want to stand on the forefront of changing the system. Mr. M fears that student unrest will undermine his efforts to educate the young. He believes that the precise and commanding use of the written word can bring about change.
After tragic events that cause Isabel and Thami to end their friendship, Isabel is taught valuable life lessons and learns to hope for a better tomorrow.
(Part of synopsis taken from http://www.seeingblack.com/article_293.shtml)
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