Durban Dialogues, Indian Voice

Set in South Africa’s third largest and most diverse city, focussing on people of Indian origin and their relationship with other South African communities, these five plays, “undres[s] Durban, as they take us away from the neon lights and ‘candy floss’ to the reality of the underbelly of post-Apartheid urban and suburban existence.” Professor Betty Govinden Singh is a three-time national award winner for playwriting via the PANSA Playreading Festival (South Africa’s foremost playwriting contest). Durban Dialogues, Indian Voice is an anthology of five engaging and eclectic South African plays by award-winning playwright Ashwin Singh. The plays selected, namely To House, Duped, Spice ‘n Stuff, Reoca Light and Beyond the Big Bangs represent the complete array of Singh’s storytelling skills in drama as well as satire. Each play reflects, in different ways, on the complexities and contradictions of life in post-Apartheid South Africa, and focuses particularly on people of Indian origin and their relationship with other South African communities.The plays present a moving portrait of a unique array of characters and are also punctuated by Singh’s trademark humour. Each one is set in Durban, South Africa’s third largest and most diverse city, and they are described by renowned academic and critic Betty Govinden as “undressing Durban, as they take us away from the neon lights and ‘candy floss’ to the reality of the underbelly of post-Apartheid urban and suburban existence.” This contemporary play collection from award-winning playwright is ideal for schools, colleges and theatre companies unafraid of gritty drama.