Alexander Upstairs Presents COLD CASE: REVISITING DULCIE SEPTEMBER

The Sylvia Vollenhoven and Basil Appollis-penned biographical drama, COLD CASE: REVISITING DULCIE SEPTEMBER, will be stage at the Alexander Upstairs this April. Conceived and performed by Denise Newman, the hour-long production won a Standard Bank Ovation Award and the Adelaide Tambo Humanitarian Award at the National Arts Festival in 2014.

The play traces Dulcie's story from her early days as a defiant teenager determined to become a teacher when her father abruptly ended her formal schooling. As a young teacher, Dulcie joins several political organisations that had a vision of educating the oppressed and overcoming racial divisions and forging unity and solidarity among students of different cultural backgrounds. However, Dulcie soon departed from organisations that engaged with endless debates and aligned herself with militants who believed in doing rather than talking.

As recent as May 2012 a Cape Times article about the assassinated ANC activist, Dulcie September, is still headlined: "Who Killed Dulcie September"? Twenty-six years after the assassination, no-one has taken responsibility for her death and speculation today is as rife as it was then. Did the five bullets to her head come from a French mercenary? Was it the South African death squads operating in Paris? Or as Aziz Pahad, the former deputy minister of foreign affairs, said in a 2011 documentary, was September was shot because of her knowledge of nuclear military trade between South Africa and France?

Vollenhoven, Appollis and Newman's research journey revealed an ordinary, fun-loving Cape Flats young woman with a love for dancing on weekends and a vivacious energy that belies the bravery and courage September showed during the trial that eventually sentenced her to five years in prison for a 'conspiracy to commit acts of sabotage, and incite acts of politically motivated violence.'

After serving her five-year sentence, she was slapped with a further five years banning order which prohibited her from practising her profession and political activity. Today, fellow members of the African People's Democratic Union of Southern Africa are still in awe of Dulcie's unwavering loyalty displayed during their prolonged court hearing in 1963. Her comrades in London and Paris fondly remember her insistence of an "Afrikaans, fish and chips Friday" that became a ritual in her Paris home.

Jacqueline Derens, the head of the anti-apartheid movement in Paris, remembers a no-nonsense, straight-talking "soldier" whose determination for liberation and equality could not be swayed:

Dulcie served in Paris for a few short years but her achievements during that time speaks volumes.

COLD CASE: REVISITING DULCIE SEPTEMBER runs from 17 - 29 April at 21:00. Tickets are available from the Alexander Bar website, with tickets costing R100 if booked and prepaid online or R120 if paid on collection at the bar. For telephone enquiries, call 021 300 1652. The Alexander Bar, Café and Theatre is situated at 76 Strand Street in the Cape Town city centre and can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

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