SHOCKWAVE is a brand-new historical drama by Chantal Stanfield set during the height of the turbulent last decade of Apartheid South Africa. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the countrywide, ongoing State of Emergency, declared by P.W. Botha in 1986. The spectre of a new ‘Gay plague' looms large while homosexuality is illegal and stigmatised. The story is set in a world of moral compromise, where issues of race, sexuality, and religion intersect.
The drama explores themes of secrecy, safety, and morality, when ‘Larry’, a closeted so-called Coloured librarian, is forced to seek lodging with the deeply religious widow ‘Sister Debbie’, on the Cape Flats where police casspirs skulk on every corner. The broader community is shown by ‘Sister Susan’, an elder in the same church. ‘Herb’, his senior White colleague, shows Larry an alternative reality. All the waves of pressure Larry feels ultimately accumulates and pushes him to make difficult choices.
SHOCKWAVE runs from 15 Oct to 8 November 2026 in the Mannie Manim Theatre.