Red Earth

by Saskia Janse

Every year a stork migrates from the North to the deep warm South of Africa. He can tell lots of stories. One of them is the true story about Nongqawuse, a 15-year-old Xhosa girl who radically changed the history of the Xhosa people. Her prophecy brings hope to the people who have been tormented by colonial wars and mysterious cattle diseases. But it also brings discord among the Xhosa people, manipulation and betrayal and at the end a terrible famine. All eyes turn to Nongqawuse, but was she really the mastermind behind it all?

Performed in a mix of English and Zulu, Red Earth brilliantly captures the sights and sounds of South Africa. 

Regular price $12.00

Quick Details

  • Type: Play with Music
  • Length: 45-60 minutes
  • Availability: Available for productions in North America
  • Cast Size: 2-3 actors

Full Details

Puppets performed by 2-3 actors:

  • Nongqawuse and Mandisa
  • Stork
  • Cattle
  • Xhosa People

The following resources are included in each performance license:
  • Permission to photocopy the PDF script for your production so there is no additional cost for these assets.

Please Note: Sheet music is not available for the indicated music as they are intended to reflect the traditional songs and sounds of South Africa.

The following resources may be added to you license for an additional fee:
  • Logo/Media package

Saskia Janse

Together with Onny Huisink, she was founder of Speeltheater Holland, a travelling theatre company based in the Netherlands. Founded in 1976, this company performed theatre for young audiences using a combination of acting and puppetry. Their productions performed in the USA, all over Europe, the Caribbean and South Africa. Their production Perô or The Mysteries of the Night has been touring all over the world, including the US in April/May 2011. Speeltheater Holland has a long-lasting collaboration with the Seattle Children's Theater since 1997. It started with the adaptation of Janell Cannon's famous book Stellaluna and after that they created five more productions in Seattle. In 2013 the travelling company did stop and both founders moved in a new direction. Onny Huisink and Saskia Janse will go on as Speeltheater Holland STUDIO: directing, designing, writing and teaching for theatre, specializing in puppetry, combined with acting and music. Saskia Janse has written most of the plays of Speeltheater Holland and several have been produced abroad by other companies :Apple to Grandma, Stellaluna, Nicky Somewhere Else, Glittra's Mission(USA, Germany, Canada);Red Earth(South Africa); and Rèk Buriku Rèké (The Antilles). The group and author have received two oeuvre awards and several awards for productions. She was a member of the Assitej Steering Board in the Netherlands and IPAY Board and Selection from 2013 till 2018. In 2012 Saskia was knighted in the Order of Orange Nassau on behalf of her Majesty the Queen Beatrix for her contribution to TYA and Puppetry and in 2013 she and her partner were honored with the IPAY Mickey Miners Lifetime Achievement Award.

Originally produced by: Speeltheater Holland/Sisonke Arts 2006