"I Will Open My Mouth in Parables": Theatre and Evangelism in South Africa between 1900-1925

Abstract

Commentators on the development of African theatre in South Africa have made only passing reference to the pioneering plays performed by African students at St. Francis College, Mariannhill Mission, Natal. The dramas were directed by Father Bernard Huss, who served as the principal of St. Francis between 1915 and 1927. Performances were held at St. Francis, the Native Location Hall at Depot Road, Durban, and at teacher training conferences. The recourse to theatre at Mariannhill stemmed from the setbacks that Huss suffered in his attempts to convert Africans. Huss's failures impressed upon him the need to rethink the nature of missionary work and education.