Jed Leland's At The Theatre

“Hostile Takeover” Following his acclaimed play “Green Man Flashing”, Mike Van Graan has written another biting theatrical satire on the politics of the “new” South Africa. In “Hostile Takeover”, a white former diplomat from the apartheid era has become a strip-club owner in order to pay his bills. When someone with an eye on his business tries to have him killed, the strip-club owner finds he has to use diplomacy to negotiate for his life with his would-be assassin.

This dialogue—with each man defending his line of work and principles—offers an allegory of the political and economic transformation of South Africa. The play ends with a twist, illustrating the grim reality of economic redistribution between black and white South Africans.

Market Theatre, 56 Wolhuter St, Johannesburg. Tel: +27 (0)11 832 1641. See the theatre's website.