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/We Shall Sing For The Fatherland

We Shall Sing for the Fatherland
“We Shall Sing for the Fatherland” is an allegorical play, by Zakes Mda, about the effects of colonial wars on society and most especially on the veterans who fought in these wars. The play was written in 1973 and first published in 1979 in S’ketsh and later by Ravan Press in 1980 as part of a collection called “We Shall Sing for the Fatherland and Other Plays”.

Plot
The play revolves around two war veterans called Janabari and Sergeant Major who sustained injuries from their time in the army and are now homeless and live on a bench in a park. Having fought colonial wars and won they now feel as though their efforts are not recognised which is true as people passing by simply ignore them or do not acknowledge them. During their stay at the park, they are constantly being hassled by a police officer who wants to evict them because they tainting the image of the park especially in the midst of the International Environment Conference. An old lady offers for them to sleep in her backyard but they decline because if they leave then the officer would have gotten what he wanted. They stay in the park and try to make a fire but it is extinguished by the officer. In the end the two protagonists die from exposure and are buried without family or friends to oversee the whole process while ironically a black businessman who had earlier ignored them is being buried with dignity.

Performances
It was first performed in 1978 as part of a double bill with another one of Zakes’ plays called “Dead End” under the direction of Benjy Francis for the Federated Union Of Black Arts. That same year it was also performed at the Market Theatre and was directed by Nicholas Ellenbogen. It was then performed in Cape Town in 1979 along with another one of Zakes’ plays called “Dead End”. It was directed by Rob Amato.

Awards
Zakes Mda was awarded the Amstel Playwright Of The Year Special Merit Award for the play in 1978.

About Zakes Mda
Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda, affectionately known as Zakes Mda, is a novelist, poet and playwright. He was born in the Eastern Cape in 1948 and then moved to Soweto where he spent most of his childhood until the release of his father, a lawyer and then political prisoner named A.P Mda, in 1963. Zakes finished his schooling in Lesotho while in exile with his father and then he set off for Switzerland to do his BFA in Visual Art and Literature, then to Ohio to complete his Masters in Fine Art and a Master Of Arts in Mass Communication and Media. He then pursued a PhD at the University of Cape Town in 1989.

He has won various awards for his novels and plays including winning the Amstel Playwright Of The Year two years consecutively.