PA, a Boere-Rambo, shot to ribbons. He looks a lot older than his 48 years. Diseased, debauched and prone to Dallas and dronkverdriet.

EVIE, his daughter, mid-twenties. There is a brittle quality about her facade of independence. Out of place (as was her English rose of a mother) in a harsh, unforgiving landscape.

JJ, son of Rambo. Heir apparent to the smallholding. A regular 23-year-old stormtrooper – possessing neither the skills nor the intellectual capacity to take on much more than tasks requiring power-saws, power-drills, jackhammers and the like.

GIDEON, a black farmhand, mid-twenties. Very aware of the fact that his father and his father's father worked Sweetfontein long before it was a smallholding.

CHRISTIAAN, a young Afrikaner, late-twenties. High up in the Post Office. Godfearing, and of sober, compassionate habits.

The action takes place on the smallholding Sweetfontein on the outer reaches of the far East Rand. The time is 1989.

Smallholding was first performed at the Standard Bank Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown on 6 July 1989.

A national tour followed, culminating in a highly successful ten-week season at Johannesburg's Market Theatre.

At Grahamstown and on tour, Nicky Rebelo played Christiaan, Paul Slabolepszy, Pa, Sello Maake, Gideon, Martin le Maitre, JJ, and Kate Edwards, Evie. At the Market Theatre, the role of Gideon was played by Louis Sebeko. The production was directed by Bobby Heaney with set design by Nadya Cohen and lighting design by Mannie Manim.

On 6 May 1987, the National Party (in power since 1948) again won a general election that was characterised by a swing to the right. On the day the results came through, I stumbled upon an untitled poem by Matsemela Manaka:

I immediately set to work on Smallholding.

Paul Slabolepszy

Note on music:

The old Boer folk song ‘Trekliedjie’ was used by Glynn Storm as the basis of the sound track.