“Bra Gib” Gibson Mthuthuzeli Kente: How Long

“Bra Gib” Gibson Mthuthuzeli Kente: How Long

HOW LONG: Written and first performed in 1973, it is a melodramatic musical play with political undertones in the township style, it is based on a tale about the death of Khulu, a helpless grandmother, through brutal police action and apartheid bureaucracy.

Kente wrote the play as a response to pressure from Black Consciousness structures, which demanded that all cultural work needed to reflect the material conditions of Black people in South Africa. The play forms part of a trilogy, the only political plays written by Kente. Because of its popularity among the black masses when performed in the township halls, the play was later banned and Kente was imprisoned when an attempt was made to film the play in 1976.

Bra Gib’s contribution to theatre in this country, for anyone who has followed Bra Gib’s contribution to theatre in this country, especially black theatre or so-called townships theatre would agree that in fact more recognition needs to be showered on this man. Yes, he was not perfect, just like many great men and women that have been recognised the world over for their good deeds in their lifetime, but to deny him full recognition is really lacking empathy and magnanimity.

Here is a man, to whom many a black thespian living and dead in South Africa, owes their success and career in theatre and music to. … Considering the fact that Bra Gib himself did not have formal training as a playwright as he trained only as a social worker, his achievement is remarkable by any standard.

“I wanted something more creative. I was tired of writing three chord sequences. I wanted to write songs that had weight. My first problem was to get hold of a script. Well, I ran from pillar to post, trying to get township people to write a script. Casey Motsisi was one of them. He just made promises but they never materialised. I decided just to sketch something on my own. That was the birth of ‘Manana, the Jazz-Prophet’.” – Gibson Kente (Quoted in “S’ketsh’, Summer 1972, pp 9 – 10, reproduced in R.K., The African Communist).

Sources:
Sabata Sesiu, “Township Theatre 1950s-1970s: A Brief History – The Call: A Reflection on Gibson Kente’s Township Theatre Innovation – Past and Present”, OutLitNet, 4 November 2004.
Edward Tsumele, “Stories of Legendary Playwright the Late Gibson Kente Revisited Through A ‘New’ Play How Long, Mfowethu”, CITYLIFE/ARTS, 25 January 2023.
R.K., “The Theatre of Gibson Kente: Art and Revolution in South Africa”, The African Communist, No. 95, Fourth Quarter, 1983.

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