Children of the Buffalo Thorn Tree is devised and performed by the 2nd year Laboratory students under the direction of Monageng Vice Motshabi. The new work draws inspiration from forensic methodologies of memory, testimony, and excavation to unearth stories of young people who have been lost, erased, or buried without recognition in South Africa’s violent past. Prompted by the 50-year commemoration of the 1976 Soweto Uprisings, the piece will grapple with unmarked graves, missing youth, and silenced narratives, asking how theatre itself might function as a form of forensic anthropology.

The production, is a political piece that collides the body with history, demanding presence for those rendered absent. The process of devising introduced students to documentary and testimonial performance-making, leading towards a fully realised debut at the National Arts Festival 2026.

Production Credits