(Menzi
Mkhwane, whose playscript “Last Cow Standing” will be published in the Junkets10Series)
On 22 April 2005, the eve of Shakespeare’s birthday and of World Book
Day, a tiny independent publishing house launched its first book: a novel Rebel Angel based on the life of the
poet John Keats, by Robin Malan. The launch happened in the Centre for the Book
in Cape Town.
“Ten years later,” says Junkets owner-manager Robin Malan, “we’ve
positioned ourselves as the only publisher dedicated to putting into print new
South African plays. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of
mainstream publishers who publish plays. When that happens, it will be a play
by John Kani or Athol Fugard or Zakes Mda. A few South African playwrights are
published by Oberon Books in London: Lara Foot, Reza de Wet, and Craig
Higginson.”
However, in 2007 Junkets found a way of publishing new plays in low-cost
high-quality editions: they were produced cheaply enough to be sold in the
foyer of the theatre where the play was playing as a programme-cum-text
souvenir.
‘Very quickly university and school libraries saw the value of what we
were doing, and now, ten years on, we have built a substantial library of
plays: over 30 Playscripts, six anthologies of plays, plus books of Southern
African monologues and collections of African folktales adapted for the stage.’
To celebrate their tenth birthday, Junkets has launched a new series of
playscripts, The Junkets10Series, 10 playscripts that will be produced in their
anniversary year. The Series has a distinctive uniform design, with production
photographs distinguishing each playscript from the others.
By the end of February 2016, five of the ten playscripts will have been
published and there will be an Official Launch of the Junkets10Series on 29
February, Leap-Year Day.
‘Of course, we don’t have money to publish ten new playscripts under our
own steam,’ says Malan with something of a wry smile. So, with the willing
assistance of the authors, Junkets launched a Sponsor-a-Playscript campaign via
email and Facebook. Sponsorship includes a full Playscript (R8,000),
half-a-Playscript (R4,000) or any number of pages of a Playscript @ R100 per
page.
Among the plays in
the series, forthcoming over the next few months, will be Last Cow
Standing by Durban based actor/playwright
and director Menzi Mkhwane.
For more information email info.junkets@iafrica.com or visit https://www.facebook.com/Junkets10Series/
or contact Robin Malan on 076 169 2789.
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