AFRICAN DRAMA
ATHOL FUGARD: Sizwe Bansi is Dead
Comment on the use of comedy in the play.
Explanation
Comedy is one of the satirical tools used by Athol Fugard to ridicule the racist regime of Pretoria. Comedy is used . as an antidote to the ruthless system of Apartheid. It is a survival technique in the midst of all the dehumanization, frustration and brutality. One of the sources of the comedy in the play is the mimicry of the actions and speeches of characters. The mimicry is particularly made funny so that we can laugh not only at some of the white characters as they climb down from their pedestal of superiority and exhibit human tendencies of fear and anxiety but at the Blackman himself as he exaggerates this fact in mimicry.
We laugh at the way Styles mimics the heavy Afrikaans account of Baas Bradley; we laugh at the way he claps his hand to urge the workers to clean and we laugh at the anxious Baas Bradley painting the safety precautions. We cannot help but laugh at the glee on Styles’ face as he mimics himself standing over the crouching Baas Bradley who is painting the safety precautions Styles spells. We are amused at the way Styles poses with his camera in front of an imaginary audience. Even the infectious laughter is funny. We also laugh at the Sizwe – Buntu mimicry. Another source of comedy is the use of invective in the language of Styles. Expressions such as, “Big – shot cunt from America”, “this old fool”, “Ford is a big bastard”, “bigger fool”, “grandmother Baas”, “South African monkeys”, are satirically funny especially given the circumstances in which they are used – to bring out the hatred between the blacks and whites at Ford Motors.
Quite apart from the use of invective, even the language of the play is funny. Styles’ description of the war with cockroaches strikes us as particularly ludicrous. The personification of the cockroaches, their recalcitrant behaviour and defiant remonstrances are all funny. Sizwe’s explanation of how he was apprehended, the matter-of-fact way that Buntu talks to goad Sizwe out of ignorance bring out the humour with which these serious issues are treated. The character portrayal of Styles, Buntu and Sizwe is also very comical. When Sizwe comes on stage he is. wearing “an ill-fitting new double-breasted suit”. Styles at Ford’s Motors talks of wearing a size 42 overall when his actual size is 38. In their attempt to portray the unpleasant aspects of apartheid the characters strike us as humorous and ludicrous. Also, the exchange between Sizwe and Buntu after their drinking spree, adds to the comedy