As “the greatest living playwright in the English-speaking world” (Time magazine), Athol Fugard receives far less attention from the world of Cambridge theatre than one would expect. This lack of recognition is, however, about to change, thanks to the new production of Sizwe Banzi Is Dead directed by Fugard enthusiast Anunita Chandrasekar.

Pulling out an exceedingly well-loved copy of the play, Chandrasekar tells me that her fascination was first sparked several years ago when she watched the documentary Falls The Shadow: The Life And Times Of Athol Fugard, which features accounts of the original performances from the playwright himself alongside John Kani and Winston Ntshona, two South African actors with whom Fugard collaborated closely. The same spirit of collaboration has been implemented in this new production, and it becomes clear that Dami Laoye (who plays Sizwe) and Malcolm Ebose (Styles and Buntu) have also been instrumental in the creation of an atmosphere which is both deeply sensitive to the acute hardships tackled within the play and darkly humorous; the rapport between the two creates an energy which is palpable in the enclosed space of the Corpus Playroom.

Set in apartheid South Africa during the 1970s, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead follows a man seeking work in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, and a better life for his family, which he has left behind in King William’s Town. It centres around two of Sizwe’s encounters, firstly with the gregarious photographer Styles, and secondly with his friend Buntu, who takes him in when he is instructed to leave the city after his unsuccessful search for employment. Buntu sympathises with Sizwe’s problem and attempts to find a solution, initially suggesting that he take up work in the mines, until another, somewhat unsavoury option presents itself and provides Sizwe with not only a new passbook, but an entirely different identity.

Chandrasekar explains that it was not only the universality of the play, which raises more general questions about human worth and the commodification of human labour, that drew her in, but also its observation of character in the face of misfortune. As well as providing “a slice of South African life” during the apartheid era, the play’s black comedy, which she describes aptly as “laughter in the void”, becomes a kind of defence mechanism applicable in the face of all kinds of adversity, both within and beyond such a specific context. Laoye and Ebose emphasise this further, carefully capturing the dynamics of opposing temperaments as Ebose’s Styles fills the stage with flamboyance whilst Laoye’s humble and unassuming Sizwe relaxes into smiles and shy gestures of enthusiasm in response to such easy manners and nonchalance.

The aesthetic minimalism which characterised Fugard’s original has been carried through by the production team here: the blank space is filled instead by the intense presence of an equally pared-down cast. There are no visual distractions, no unnecessary appendages – the audience must focus their attention solely upon the pair on stage, creating a unique sense of participation and empathy which no great spectacle could quite conjure up in the same way and with the same vigour. An elaborate set would according to Chandrasekar, “defeat the point”: this is the business of subtle signifiers above grand gestures. The costumes too, I am told, will seek to reflect this subtlety: nothing glaring, only the slightly shabby or the ill-fitting will indicate the characters’ poverty, and rank them as what they were, in the authorities’ eyes – second-class citizens.

I wondered about the difficulties of performing in the unusual set-up of the Playroom. But in observing rehearsals, it became clear that such a space is perfectly suited to a play on this scale; Laoye and Ebose seem in no way phased by its unconventionality. Despite the challenges which the Playroom presents in requiring actors to engage with audience members on both sides of the stage, in this play the unusual space creates an important intimacy which a more typical arrangement might prevent.

Sizwe Banzi Is Dead promises to bring Fugard to the Cambridge stage with a remarkable thoughtfulness and delicacy. It seems that Chandrasekar and the rest of the crew have left none of the political and social questions surrounding the performance of such a demanding play unconsidered and this careful examination of the sensitive issues it tackles only goes further towards highlighting its importance and universality.

Sizwe Banzi Is Dead is on at the Corpus Playroom 6-10 February