A Lesson from Aloes

Set in 1963 in a white district of Port Elizabeth South Africa this important play gives a compelling portrait of a society caught in the grip of a police state and the effect it has on individuals. A liberal Afrikaner who is actively involved in anti-apartheid activity and his wife who is recovering from a nervous breakdown brought about by a police raid on their home are waiting for dinner guests a Black family. They never arrive but the head of the family does. He has just been released from prison and plans to flee South Africa after first confronting the Afrikaner with the charge that he has betrayed him.