Paul Slabolepszy's evocation of empathy in a South African setting: a realisation of the potential of comic technique

English: A study of comedy reveals its variety and scope, its subjective nature, how we are able to see in it a reflection of life and customs, and how comedy is able to evoke empathy for characters through our laughter of recognition. South Africa's stormy political background is reflected in Slabolepszy's dramas, from the turbulent apartheid years of the 1980s onwards, (for example, in plays such as Saturday Night at the Palace, Packing for Perth I, Sidewalking, R.S.A, Boo to the Moon, Packing for Perth II and Smallholding) through the early 1990s with their uncertainties and turnover of leadership, until full democratization in 1994, and the eventual attempts at forgiveness and reconciliation until the present. Although Slabolepszy's plays are not exclusively political, like some of Fugard's, do not rally people to action as Mda's and the township plays do, or are not as corrosively satiric as most of Pieter-Dirk Uys's work, he provides insight into the South African situation and, through a variety of comic techniques, is able to evoke empathetic understanding for his characters in a South African setting. The sensitive humour and wit in Braait Laaities (1991) evoke empathy for a conservative, white woman, and a streetwise, black male, who are able to communicate on mutual ground, despite a stormy political South African background and personal sorrow. Mooi Street Moves (1992) is a particularly poignant play in which Slabolepszy through a variety of comic devices evokes empathy for a black and a white man who succeed in reconciling their differences, despite their conflicting politics and cultural heritage. His plays also reflect comedy's tragic alter ego, especially in the personal angst of characters in plays such as The Return of Elvis du Pisanie (1992) and Pale Natives (1994). In Fordsburg's Finest (1998), a black woman who has been in exile and returns to a democratic South Africa to redefine her roots after an interim period of almost forty years, becomes the focus of his concern. The play transcends the limitations of politics, race, sex and skin colour. Slabolepszy evokes empathy for present-day South Africans through various comic techniques, and demonstrates with perceptive insight that forgiveness between people is indeed possible. Slabolepszy experiments with various comic devices and techniques, plus varying degrees of comedy, ranging from bitter satire in his earlier plays, for example, Saturday Night at the Palace (1982), to an overall more light-hearted, even farcical approach in his other plays; for example, Under the Oaks (1984), Miles from Machadodorp (1992), Victoria Almost Falls (1994), Tickle to Fine Leg (1995) and Heel Against the Head (1995). Through a comic approach which alternates between dark and light-hearted humour, and low comedy, Slabolepszy is able to touch on contentious issues, for example, white male bonding in Pale Natives (1994). Absurdist elements are introduced in Travelling Shots and Smallholding, which demonstrate his versatility and ability to implement various comic techniques with success. Like his contemporaries, he shows his use of English to function as a "linguafranca ", but uses a distinctly South African "patois", mixed with English, Afrikaans and ZululXhosa expressions and South African slang, as a comic device to evoke both laughter and empathy, and to make his plays more authentic. Slabolepszy's appeal is both national and international, and he is one of South Africa's most popular playwrights. He extends the boundaries of his work by providing peculiar insight into the South African situation, as well as the human psyche. His plays are accessible to people from all walks of life, notwithstanding race, creed or colour, and through humour, he is able to evoke empathy for all individuals within a South African socio-political context. It is clear that Slabolepszy in his plays has been able to realise comedy's potential to evoke empathy for individuals in a South African setting through a variety of comic techniques.