Performing the struggle against apartheid opposing apartheid on stage: King Kong the musical
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Date
2023
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
Tyler Fleming�s book provides an account of the first production of �King Kong� � a musical theatre
production based on the life of the boxer Ezekiel Dlamini � in 1959. This musical rankled the
apartheid state partly because it affirmed the aspirations of a Black urban class against an official
state narrative which preferred a Black rural population. As a story of Black urban life that crossed
over for mainstream white audiences, and became part of the canon and lore of South African theatre and popular music, the play stands as a landmark in South African cultural history. Fleming�s
well-researched study considers the ways in which the multiracial production confronted petty
apartheid legislation. The author offers an abundance of empirical detail on the play�s production,
its human and sociopolitical context, and furthers our understanding of African participation in
cultural trends � in this case, musical theatre � by invoking Paul Gilroy�s �Black Atlantic� to
argue for a multiplicity of perspectives on cultural production. Yet Fleming�s narrative exegesis
remains firmly within the discipline of social history, at the expense of accounting for broader theoretical implications of the work.
Description
Keywords
Musical theatre, Apartheid, Black urban class, Race, Population studies, Culture
Citation
Layne, V. E. (2023). Performing the struggle against apartheid opposing apartheid on stage: King Kong the musical. The Journal of African History. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021853723000099