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Using archive footage, photos and interviews we define Apartheid and its segregating laws. We hear what it was like growing up under such a violent regime from both sides of the colour line and the post war generation’s growing unease with the brutality of their government. In 1963 a white teacher named John Harris set off a bomb in Johannesburg station.
“That was in a sense a voice from white south Africa about the injustice that was prevalent in the whole country under Apartheid†– Athol Fugard.
In Response to this act of violence Athol Fugard began working on his adaptation of Orestes with Brian’s wife and actress Yvonne Bryceland. Orestes changed Brian’s life forever and laid the seeds for what would become The Space.
This young sheltered “country boy†then follows his wife out to London immersing himself in the cultural freedoms and excesses enjoyed by the 1970’s emerging artists at that time. He would go back to South Africa with his mind made up and give the creative’s what they continually pined for: “A space to work inâ€
“I never forget that period of time it taught me an awful lot about what happens inside societies when the idea whose time has come arrives†– Brian Astbury
Brian comes back to South Africa and is amazed by everyone’s enthusiasm. We talk to people around Brian at that time as they remember this old three-story building slowly evolving into a fully functional arts venue. Fatima Dike who championed and sponsored by The Space would become South Africa’s first black woman play write to have her work published remembers her disbelief at seeing all these white people “working for nothingâ€.
1972, The Space Theatre opened its doors to mixed race audiences and mixed race casts. Athol Fugard who at first was sceptical about Brian’s idea would end up writing a play especially for the opening night entitled “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act†a play based on a law that forbid people of different colour having sexual relationships. It would hammer The Space’s colours to the mast and set it on a collision course with the authorities a battle that would last throughout its seven years.
“This was theatre in the raw!†– Dermod Judge
We look at these first three years and celebrate the artist’s positivity under the severest conditions of censorship and political oppression. British playwright Donald Howarth remembers championing the work coming out of The Space and instigating a run of their work at London’s Royal Court along with the subsequent Tony awards in the US for “The Island†and it’s all African cast all of which went on to increase awareness of the brutality under Apartheid.
There is a distinct change in tone now as we move through to the late seventies and what Athol Fugard called “ South Africa’s darkest days…†We cut to brutal images of the 1976 riots. Brian remembers the production of Beckett’s Endgame and a realization that when times were harsh audiences wanted to escape from reality. We look at the various tactics The Space used to get bums on seats and the increasing tensions amongst the company as passions rose.
Ultimately in a non-subsidised theatre, no government money, ever increasing violence on the streets, TV growing in popularity along with the relaxing of the segregation laws, due in part to the risks The Space took, the tensions began to take their toll on Brian and the company. We explore the enormous dedication that The Space demanded of its company and ask “Was the artist’s burn-out inevitable and is it the responsibility of each generation to pick up the baton?â€
“Where people are gathered together because they want to say something, they want to tell a story they believe in… if you leave that there is inevitably a sense of betrayal†– Brian Astbury
In 1979 Brian Astbury left to follow his Wife and actress Yvonne Bryceland to London and The Space closed. We hear from others about Brian’s massive contribution and the man himself on his painful decision to leave.
“Brian was the space and what Brian had in abundance was courage…†– Athol Fugard
Brian Astbury recalls the play Imfuduso by the Women of The Crossroads that attracted international interest and grew spontaneously from a community with no previous theatrical experience or urge.
“It was the closest I have ever been to the roots of theatre†– Brian Astbury
Fatima Dike and Brian Astbury visit the townships today as we ask the question “Can theatre still be a mouthpiece for the people?†“Can theatre be a force for change?â€
“The space helped me to dissect and understand my role I had to be strong I had to fight to keep on talking that gave me that confidence and ability to be able to say what was in my heart without fear†– Fatima Dike
