Fatima Dike, also known as Fatts Dike (born 13 September 1948) is a South African playwright and theatre director. After writing ''The Sacrifice of Kreli'' in 1976, she became the first black South African woman to have a play published.

Life

Royline Fatima Dike was born in

Langa, Cape Town Langa is a township in Cape Town, South Africa. Its name in Xhosa means "sun". The township was initially built in phases before being formally opened in 1927. It was developed as a result of South Africa's 1923 Urban Areas Act (more commonly k ...

on 13 September 1948.Stephen Gray, 'An Interview With Fatima Dike', ''Callaloo'', No. 8/10 (Feb. - Oct. 1980), pp.157-164. She was educated at Langa church schools until the government took them over in the 1950s. She was later sent to boarding school run by Irish nuns in

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 2017 ...

. After leaving school she had a variety of jobs, including work in a steakhouse, a butcher's shop, a bookshop and a supermarket. In 1972 she volunteered at the non-racial Space Theatre in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, where she was encouraged to write ''The Sacrifice of Kreli'', about a king who takes himself into exile rather than be enslaved by the British. From 1979 to 1983 she lived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, participating in a writers' conference at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and working with theatre groups in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. She took courses at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, though when she enrolled in a playwriting class with

Ed Bullins Edward Artie Bullins (July 2, 1935November 13, 2021), sometimes publishing as Kingsley B. Bass Jr, was an American playwright. He won awards including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and several Obie Awards. Bullins was associated with ...

he told her she was too experienced to be in his class. Dike lives in Langa.

Plays

* ''The Sacrifice of Kreli''.

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 1976. * ''The First South African'', 1977 * ''The Crafty Tortoise'', 1978 * ''Glass House'', 1979 * ''So What's New?'', 1991 * ''Streetwalking and Company Valet Service'', 2000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dike, Fatima South African dramatists and playwrights South African women dramatists and playwrights South African women writers 1948 births Living people