Article December 31, 2001 Issue

Drama workshops at the foot of Table Mountain

By Tony Lobl

Why Do Residents of Nyanga East point at a group of visitors from the United States and Europe who are walking with a Nigerian statesman through the black "township" outside Cape Town? Because these visitors are walking with Chris April, the black South African actor and playwright whom they recognize from their TV screens and clearly love. Excited children and awe-struck adults ignore the visitors and point at Chris.

Chris is a celebrity here, but he is no millionaire with a mansion. His residence is modest, though he and his wife, Xoliswa, have made it into a welcoming home. His 40-year-old car is so beat up it can scarcely go anywhere, so most of the time he has to borrow a friend's vehicle to get around. The slow progress for non-whites since apartheid has meant that material rewards have never flowed to this veteran of the stage and small screen, who has also worked in several movies.

Chris's lack of external affluence may have something to do with the fact that when he could have been socializing with other celebrities, he has chosen to spend time in the neighboring township of Khayelitsha. There he offers the young people drama workshops as a constructive alternative to hanging out on the streets. Under his tutelage, kids learn to perform the musical plays he himself writes.

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