“I was born into Apartheid. We lived our lives as a white family in a white town but somehow we were different from other white families. It puzzled me. We always lived on the outskirts of the town. My parents had no social life, no close family friends. My father never spoke of his past.

When I found out about my father’s hidden life, his secret, nearly 40 years ago, my life changed in a profound way. I tried to speak to my father, but his intense emotional reaction made me realize that in some way I was now the custodian of his secret. I needed to guard it with my life.  I began writing ‘pieces’ as a way of trying to understand him and his ‘passing’ and now me and my ‘passing.’ We were collaborators in our knowledge and silence.

My family’s story is not unique in South Africa. However, it is one that is often not told. This is the efficacy of the devastating damage wreaked by the inhuman laws passed and entrenched by the Apartheid Government and which continues even in today’s South Africa. These stories are still shrouded in a conspiracy of silence.  I can no longer remain silent. The intrinsic damage this ‘secret’ has done to our family and to so many others needs to be seen and heard and hopefully start the journey to healing. 

I believe theatre can facilitate this."

Bo Peterson, writer/performer