Eclipse Theatre Company

Eclipse Theatre Company, the only black led company presenting annual mid-scale tours regionally, and the Young Vic present the UK tour of this cornerstone of the global anti-apartheid movement.

The performance, directed by the Young Vic’s Genesis Future Directors Award winner Matthew Xia, exposes the struggle for freedom and identity in apartheid-era South Africa, unravelling the brutal absurdities of everyday life under oppression. Sizwe Banzi is Dead received its UK premiere in 1973 at London’s Royal Court Theatre, directed by Athol Fugard and starring John Kani and Winston Ntshona, where it was performed in repertory with The Island and received critical acclaim both in the West End and on Broadway.

Set in 1972 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Sizwe Banzi’s passbook gives him just three days to find work. No work and he’ll be deported. That was four days ago. 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?