Editing Sol Plaatje (section)

== Performing ==

[[File:Sol Plaatje (centre) in Cradle of the World 1923.jpg|thumbnail|A scene from the stage show of ''Cradle of the World'', 1923. Sol Plaatje is centre stage.]]
Plaatje made three visits to Britain. There he met many people of similar views. One was the cinema and theatrical impresario [[George Lattimore]] who in 1923 was promoting with [[Pathé]], ''Cradle of the World'', the "most marvellous and thrilling travel film ever screened". In a letter to the pan-Africanist [[W. E. B. Du Bois]], Lattimore reported that he was having a "successful run"  at the [[Philharmonic Hall, London|Philharmonic Hall]] in London.<ref>[http://oubliette.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b021-i418 Letter from George W. Lattimore to W. E. B. Du Bois, 21 August 1923.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812052906/http://oubliette.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b021-i418 |date=12 August 2018 }} W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, ''credo''. Retrieved 13 October 2014.</ref> The show, which had the character of a revue, included live music and singing. Plaatje was recruited by Lattimore to take the role of an African tribesman.<ref>Topp Fargion, Janet. [http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/soundarch/saplayback/playback12.pdf "Sol t Plaatje: The hidden recording"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106120255/http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/bldept/soundarch/saplayback/playback12.pdf |date=6 November 2011 }}, in ''Playback'', Bulletin of the British Library National Sound Archive, No. 12, Autumn 1995, pp. 2-4.</ref>

Importantly, according to the SOAS University of London, this short-lived acting reflects a period of Plaatje's life where he was "desperately in need of money".<ref>'Scene from the stage show of Cradle of the World, 1923'</ref> Considering "Cradle of the World" and its simplistic depictions of indigenous culture, it is likely that Plaatje only would have participated if he desperately needed too. Plaatje, descended from the BaRong people of the Tswana-speaking nation; but was born and raised in a Lutheran Mission within the Orange Free State.<ref>Brian Willians</ref>

His recording of "[[Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika]]" with Sylvia Colenso at the piano is believed to be the earliest extant recording of what would become the national anthem of South Africa.<ref>BBC radio 4 Desert Island Disks 16 January 2022.</ref><ref>Audio recording MP3. {{cite web |url=http://samap.ukzn.ac.za/audio-people/plaatjesol-t |title=Plaatje,Sol T. |last= |first= |date= |website=samap.ukzn.ac.za |publisher=South African Music Archive Project. DISA Digital Innovation South Africa, University of KwaZulu-Natal |access-date=3 January 2022 |quote=Nkosi Sikelel' i-Afrika, Pesheya kotukela, Singa mawele}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.flatinternational.org/template_volume.php?volume_id=267 |title=SOL T. PLAATJE PESHEYA KO TUKELA / NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRIKA / SINGA MAWELA, recorded 1923-10-16. SOL T. PLAATJE - vocal, SYLVIA COLENSO - piano, vocal. Zonophone Gramophone Co. EMI |last= |first= |date= |website=flatinternational.org |publisher=flatinternational, south african audio archive |access-date=3 January 2023 |quote=This is the first known recording of the hymn [[Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika]], which today forms part of the South African National Anthem.}} Audio from South African Music Archive Project.</ref>