Forum Südliches Afrika, 23. April 2026: South African Theatre
South African Theatre: At the Intersection of Storytelling and Socail Justice
Vortrag (in englischer Sprache) von Elisabeth Knittelfelder (Wien)
23. April 2026 – 19 Uhr
SADOCC-Bibliothek
Favoritenstraße 38/18/1, A-1040 Wien
Anfahrt:
U1 Taubstummengasse,
13A Belvederegasse
Theatre and politics are closely intertwined in South Africa. During apartheid, theatre was used as a means of protest and tool of resistance, defying apartheid’s racist laws and strict censorship regulations. With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which William Kentridge calls “a kind of ur-theatre”, the act of (public) testimony and bearing witness has become a crucial part of contemporary South African theatre as it engages with the socio-political discourses of the post-apartheid nation.
How did this unique theatre language develop in South Africa? And in what ways does theatre in South Africa engage with pressing and topical societal issues today?
Elisabeth Knittelfelder is a postdoctoral university assistant at the Department of African Studies at the University of Vienna. She has worked on South African testimonial and documentary theatre at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa and at Potsdam University in Germany. Her current research takes an ecocritical approach and explores the nexus of coloniality, environmental crisis, and climate justice in African literatures, theatre, and performance.
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