by Thinus Ferreira
The South African veteran actor, playwright, drama teacher and poet Sol Rachilo, known as Bra Sol has died on Sunday 16 August at the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital. He was 94.
The Market Theatre Foundation announced "the deeply saddening news".
The Market Theatre described him as "far more than an actor; he was a living archive with rich memory, embodying the histories, struggles, dreams and stories of his people" and said that as a "son of Pietermaritzburg who left indelible imprints across the Vaal, Soweto, Newtown and beyond, Bra Sol strode through the world of South African theatre".
"He was gentle and kind-hearted, yet fiercely gifted; generous with his knowledge and unwavering in his artistic truth."
"His rich artistic legacy endures through works such as Lakutshona Ilanga, Three in Number, The Township Housewife and Grounded in Mshenguville, while his memorable performances in productions including No-Good Friday, Sponono, Gangsters, the film Game for Vultures and the television drama Lisenethini cemented his place as one of South Africa's most valued talents."
"Belonging to a golden generation that shaped the country's unique artistic identity, Bra Sol lived through the ever-changing socio-political environment as one of the cornerstones of our cultural architecture, from the 1950s when he debuted as a performer to his final moments."
"The Market Theatre Foundation extends its sincerest condolences and prayers to Sol Rachilo's family, loved ones and the broader creative community in these sad times."
Sol Rachilo appeared in films like Joe Bullet in 1973, Bullet on the Run in 1982, 1984's Charlie Steel and Stoney: The One and Only, as well as an episode of 2009's The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
Born on 22 February 1929, the legendary South African cultural activist spent nearly seven decades shaping the country's performance landscape, highly regarded as a living archive of township history and the South African theatre under the harsh constraints of apartheid.
Born in Pietermaritzburg to a mother who worked as a domestic worker, Sol Rachilo spent the majority of his adult life living and working in Soweto.
He was trained professionally as a social worker at the Jan H. Hofmeyr School of Social Work, which was the first institution established to train black social workers in South Africa.
Sol Rachilo's accidental debut came in 1958 when he entered theatre by chance, after his close friend, the iconic actor Ken Gampu, urged him to audition for Athol Fugard's landmark play No Good Friday.
Sol Rachilo became a veteran performer with Union Artists at the historic Dorkay House, collaborating with legends like Zakes Mokae.
His performance repertoire included classic stage productions such as Sponono (1962), Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, and Maishe Maponya’s Gangsters (1984). He was also celebrated for his enduring portrayal of Boesman in Fugard's Boesman and Lena.
In 1967, Sol Rachilo composed his first musical, Three in Number, which featured music by Gideon Nxumalo, and in books he authored several impactful works documenting township reality, including The Township Housewife (1972) and Grounded in Mshenguville (1989).
Sol Rachilo was an accomplished poet who captured the pain, resistance, and survival of his community. His most acclaimed collection, Nostalgic Waves from Soweto: Poetic Memories of the June 16th Uprising, serves as an award-winning historical record of the 1976 student protests.
Following the trauma of the 1976 Soweto student uprisings, Sol Rachilo stepped away from full-time social work to utilise the arts for community rehabilitation.
In 1977, he founded the Children of Soweto Action Centre (Cosac) Drama Academy, recognised as the first drama school owned and run by a black individual during the apartheid era.
Through Cosac and his later venture, Inner Eye Production, he spent decades providing free training in drama, music, photography, and fine arts to racially marginalised and underprivileged young people.
