Chapter 9. Siswe Banse Is Dead
Another brief interude...
After the success of 'Demolition Man', which Arthur had rightly spotted as a vehicle for Louis, Arthur was always on the look-out for other such potential vehicles. One of these was the brilliant play 'Siswe Banse Is Dead' by the South African playwright Athol Fugard, an excoriating attack on the evils of apartheid, Fugard is arguably the greatest playwright of the English language in the second half of the 20th century, and 'Siswe Banse...', together with 'The Island' (a dramatisation of Nelson Mandela's time in prison), is his masterpiece. It tells the heartbreaking story of one man's struggle against the hated 'Pass Laws', which ran like a sore through those dreadful times in South Africa. Siswe is robbed of his 'pass', which is what entitles him to apply for work – even the most poorly paid and degrading of jobs – and live in one of the townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg. In order to be able to continue to work (and therefore earn the pittance he can then send back home to his wife and family living deep in the bush) he has to declare himself dead so that he might then re-apply for a new pass under a false name. He refuses to do this and he heroically defends his right to exist, to hold on to who he really is, even though this means an end to all hope of work.
The play is a two-hander and it established the reputations of its original two actors, John Kani and Winston Ntshona, who collaborated with Fugard in the devising and writing of the piece, as world class performers. Arthur imagined that Louis and Mike Shaft would play the two roles and that we might present the piece at the intimate Salford Playhouse (where Genesis presented 'And Afterwards At...') But I baulked at the idea. Genesis was a large company with upwards of 30 core members of actors and musicians; furthermore there was no music in this play, which would have meant no role for Chris; and I was already very busy directing other plays in my capacity of Resident Director at Altrincham Garrick. I regret this decision now, for in every other respect 'Siswe Banse...' was a perfect Genesis Theatre choice: bold, controversial, alternative to the mainstream, young, provocative, and of an unquestioned pedigree and quality.
But this story has a happy ending. After Genesis finally finished, Louis went on to become a highly successful professional actor using the name of Louis Emerick. He secured a place at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Acting, but before he took it up, he was offered professional work at Contact in Manchester, and then at Chester Gateway. Shortly after these engagements, he secured the prestigious part of 'Mr Big' in the Alan Plater musical play 'Rent', which had a highly successful season at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East in London, where Amanda and I drove down to see him one Friday night. It was a great night out – a terrific play with a terrific cast and fantastic jazz standards for the music – and Louis himself was outstanding. Talking to him afterwards in the bar, he revealed that he had been offered a 6 week trial run in 'Brookside'. The rest, as they say, is history. That 6 week run turned into many years, with Louis establishing himself in the character of Mick and picking up several awards on the way. It was a groundbreaking achievement, with Louis becoming the first mainstream black actor in a leading character role in a British soap. When 'Brookside' closed, Louis went on to play one of the comic policemen in 'Last of the Summer Wine', all the while continuing his involvement, when time permitted, with theatre. So it was that a few years ago Louis finally got to play the part of Siswe in a production of the Fugard classic at the New Victoria Theatre in Stoke, where, you may recall, the director was my former girl friend Gwenda Hughes, with whom I had first gone to see Chris D perform at Humphrey Park Community Centre all those years ago. Wheels within wheels... Louis received excellent notices for his portrayal of Siswe and still regularly performs on TV and in theatre.