Investigating contemporary social commentary in South African performance: Theatre, stand-up comedy, rap and visual performance

This dissertation investigates how contemporary South African performance practices function as vehicles of social commentary in the post-apartheid era by means of four case studies drawn from distinct yet interconnected domains: theatre (Mike van Graan), stand-up comedy (Schalk Bezuidenhout), rap (Angie Oeh, Early B, and Van Pletzen), and visual art (Berni Searle, Brett Murray, and Steven Cohen). The study explored how artists interrogate questions of identity, inequality, memory and power. Drawing on performance theory and cultural analysis, the research demonstrates that these practitioners do more than entertain. They address social contradictions, contest certain narratives, and work towards reimagining democratic belonging. Methodologically, the dissertation combines close analysis of texts and performances with socio-historical contextualisation. The central argument is that South African performance functions as a repertoire of civic intervention that exposes the limits of post-apartheid South Africa. This dissertation contributes to performance studies and South African cultural scholarship, underscoring the role of art as an essential mode of social commentary in public discourse. Performances do not only take place on the stage or in the gallery. The internet and social media platforms have become key ways of sharing, where clips, recordings, and images reach wider audiences. Works are created for these modern media platforms, but online circulation gives works that were not created for media a second life that spreads their impact, sparking debate, and allowing them to connect with people far beyond the original audience.

Grantor dc:publisher

Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Van Eeden-Harris, Marguerite

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Du Preez, Petrus

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135671

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135671