WeeklySA_AdminHEALING: A bold international production at the Market Theatre revisits forgiveness, justice and reconciliation—30 years after Truth and Reconciliation Commission began its work…
By WSAM Reporter
A powerful new theatre production is set to reignite national reflection on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), three decades after its historic hearings began.
Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept, presented by the Market Theatre in partnership with Kosovo-based Qendra Multimedia, opened in Johannesburg for a limited run last night and will run until April 19.
The production interrogates the complex terrain of forgiveness, justice and reconciliation, drawing parallels between South Africa’s TRC and Kosovo’s Movement for the Reconciliation of Blood Feuds.
Blending archival material with newly collected testimonies, the play adopts a visually striking and often playful approach to deeply serious questions: how societies heal, what forgiveness demands, and whether reconciliation is ever truly complete.
The timing is deliberate. The production coincides with the 30th anniversary of the TRC’s establishment in 1996—a process that sought to uncover apartheid-era crimes while promoting national healing through truth-telling and amnesty.
Yet, as the play suggests, that chapter remains unfinished, with ongoing debates about accountability and justice continuing to shape public discourse.
Written by acclaimed Kosovar playwright Jeton Neziraj and directed by Blerta Neziraj, the production brings together an international cast, including South African performers Les Made, Bongile Gorata Lecoge-Zulu, Kensiwe Tshabalala and Gontse Ntshegang. At its core, the work explores the conditions under which forgiveness is possible—between individuals, communities and nations.
By juxtaposing South Africa’s TRC with Kosovo’s grassroots reconciliation movement of the 1990s, the play offers a global lens on shared human struggles with trauma, justice and healing.
That Kosovo movement saw over 1 200 blood feuds resolved through public acts of forgiveness, involving hundreds of thousands of people. The comparison invites audiences to consider whether similar collective courage and closure have been achieved in South Africa.
For the Market Theatre, the production is not about memorialising the TRC, but challenging audiences to confront its legacy.
Artistic director Greg Homann notes that the play seeks to engage with “the lack of political will to finish the business of the TRC” while acknowledging the enduring trauma left in its wake.
The staging also arrives amid renewed scrutiny of TRC-related cases, with ongoing inquiries into alleged political interference in prosecutions further underscoring the relevance of the production.
After its South African run, the play will embark on an international tour across Europe, with additional performances planned in the United States through 2027—extending its conversation on reconciliation to global audiences.
Ultimately, Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept positions theatre as a space for reckoning—a “new truth commission” of sorts—where unresolved questions of justice and forgiveness can be revisited with honesty, discomfort and imagination.
Tickets are available via Webtickets, with special offers for group bookings and midweek performances.
