Until its destruction by government decree in the mid-1950s, Sophiatown was the ""Chicago of South Africa"", a vibrant community that produced not only gangsters and shebeen queens but leading journalists, writers, musicians and politicians; one which gave urban African culture its rhythm and style. This play, based on the life history of the township, opened at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg in February 1986 to great acclaim. The authors received the AA Life Vita Award for Playwright of the Year 1985/6. This edition of the play includes an introduction which sets the play in its historical context.