A NEW drama series that highlights the good and bad of shebeens is set to hit the screens later next month, invoking memories of the mid 1970s into the 1980s when these illicit domestic drinking holes ruled the roost.
BY ARTS CORRESPONDENT
Film director Christopher Makhosana said back then, shebeens were a way of life that was meant for the elite but has been associated with moral decay in contemporary society.
“We want to bring out the long untold story of an inherited culture that has destroyed our culture and it continues today,” he said. “It was a way of life and people were entertained in shebeens which were meant for the elite in the mid-1970s, so we want to highlight how it was back then and its effects on our culture today.”
The drama as Makhosana says has 45 hilarious scenes and were shot in Mbare’s Vito Street, where the drama will also be officially launched.
“The drama has 45 scenes which are hilarious and was shot in Mbare’s Vito Street as most shebeens are found in high-density suburbs and it is a family drama and will be launched in Mbare,” said Makhosana.
Shebeens are illicit bars or clubs where home-brewed alcohol and other alcoholic beverages are sold without licence. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland to Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
In modern South Africa, shebeebs have been legalised. The term “shebeen” was derived from the Irish síbín, meaning “illicit whiskey”.
