WeeklySA_AdminTHE PUPIL: Like most struggle heroines her survival came from quiet strength.
By Gugu Sibiya
The Unlikely Secret Agent is a drama that pays tribute to Eleanor, Ronnie Kasrils’ wife for her heroic deeds in the Struggle for liberation.
Currently running at the Draa Factory, in Somerset West, Cape Town. The Unlikely Secret Agent runs from June 10 -20.
Set in the 60s, at the height of apartheid and Hendrik Verword’s ruling the country with an iron fist. The feared Special Brach an organ of thestate security, ran amok detaining and torturing anyone suspected of being a threat to the apartheid regime.
Young Eleanor who’s still Kasrils’ girlfriend and single mom, is by all accounts a stand up citizen. That is until the SB dubs Kasrils a dangerous terrorist high on their wanted list. An unsuspecting Eleanor is arrested at her working place, the Gribbs book store in Durban.
True to form, she’s tortured to betray her beau, but she’s not budging. She is not going to betray her man nor the comrades. When she realises just how in danger her life is, she fakes a mental breakdown. The police transfer her to a psychiatric institution. Here she plots her escape. Baesd on Kasrils Alan Paton award-winning book, The Unlikely Secret Agent, he’s in awe of her quiet strength. He never expected her to withstand the torture nor sell him out or the comrades. Police were notorious for breaking even the strongest of men.
He’s even excited that she managed to pull wool over their eyes. Eleanor had a secret they couldn’t have imagined. She was a member of ANC’s armed wing, MK or uMkhonto weSizwe. With all the intelligence they claim, they failed to figure that out.
What is refreshing about this drama, is the recognition of the many anonymous and faceless individuals who fought for the country’s liberation. The country is waiting for many such heroes and heroines to be appreciated. Their names deserve to be on the gold plaque for generations to see and recognise.
