TO close off the second day of the Durban University of Technology’s three-day conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Durban Strikes, which was a protest against the labour laws of the time, the internationally renowned musical group, Insurrection Ensemble, performed an epic show, entitled The Story of a Strike.
Professor Ari Sitas, head of the Sociology Department at the University of Cape Town (UCT), one of the facilitators of the production and the co-director of the production, gave insight into the exhilarating concert.
“This production commemorates 50 years since the Durban Strikes – the event that changed the tide of history in our country. In putting the performance together, we gathered together storytellers, performers and musicians who intend to showcase a major creative performance. This was done in collaboration with important veterans of the time, like Thul’ubheke Khanyile and Joe Nene, and all the archival resources of the Culture and Working Life Project which was revived just for this occasion,” Sitas said.
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Sitas said that the production is based on research and the development of narratives and propositions. “The production really reproduces the music of the time, how it was sung, and the instruments that were played. We use the art of reconstruction to show the type of creativity that existed during that time, and it builds towards the narrative of how the strike happened.”
Prof Sitas further added that it tells the story of the strikes but also the stories of the people who decided in February 1973 to say ‘enough is enough’ and re-ignited the road to freedom.
“The strikes were not organised; there was no organisation to them. They arose from issues of work conditions and wages, and people had suffered enough. And after one factory came out to strike, another factory came out to join them, and then it became an entire movement of people. And so, in late January of 1973, and the early weeks of February, factory after factory started making demands for better working conditions and wages. There were many women involved in this movement – although the photographs we see of the Durban strikes include a lot of men, women formed a large part of these protests.”
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The special ensemble is made up of the core members of the award-winning Insurrections Ensemble led by Dr Sazi Dlamini (Durban’s living musical legend) of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Maestro Reza Khota of the University of the Western Cape, and a host of isicathamiya and maskandi master musicians led by Bhekisenzo Cele and soundscape specialists like Andries Bezuidenhout.
For those who missed the show, Sitas said there will be a video copy made available. “DUT will be making a video of the production, and if it is successful, and there is a demand for it, then we would love to introduce this show to more people.”
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