Alex Burger is an American playwright and screenwriter, based in Los Angeles. He is known for serving as the head writer for Seasons 3 and 4 of Umlilo (Zulu for “The Fire”), the SAFTA Award-winningFry, Andy "Africans Tell their own Stories", 30 November 2016 South African drama and for adapting Njabulo Ndebele's novel The Cry of Winnie Mandela for the stage..
Writing career
Burger began his career as a poet and later transitioned into playwriting. In 2012, his play Whose Blood: A Tale of Desire and Despair Set in a 19th Century Operating Theatre was staged at London's Old Operating Theatre. The production was later referenced in Wellcome Trust Magazine and featured in the book Challenging History in the Museum. His other works include Mashoga (My Wife), presented at the Glasgow Any Objections Festival in 2013, The Inkanyamba, performed at Market Theatre Lab in 2015, and Fees Must Fall, staged at Wits University in 2016.
In 2019, Burger was the head writer for the South African Afrikaans drama Die Testament (Seasons 1 and 2), which was released on Network24 in September of that year.
In 2024, Burger adapted Njabulo S. Ndebele's novel The Cry of Winnie Mandela for the stage. The production premiered at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg from 30 March to 21 April 2024, returned to the Market Theatre from 26 February to 30 March 2025, transferred to the Baxter Flipside in Cape Town from 29 January to 15 February 2025, and was later staged at the Playhouse Company's Drama Theatre in Durban on 9 August 2025. In 2026, the production was featured in the National Arts Festival programme and returned to the Market Theatre for a limited run from 8 to 12 July 2026.
Activist career Burger has collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank.
Filmography Television series Year Show Role Season Notes 2016 Umlilo Head writer 3 13 episodes 4 13 episodes Doubt Storyline 1 13 episodes Hard Copy 413 episodes 2016 - 2017 90 Plein Street Story 5 13 episodes 2018 - 2019 Isthembiso Story consultant 1 Episode 1 - 208 2019 Die Testament Head writer 1 Episode 1 - 64 2022 2 Episode 1 - 48
Plays Writer
Year Title Role Notes 2010 Ain’t Nothin’ Changed Writer Was performed in San Francisco as part of the Playground Theatre 2011 Whose Blood: A Tale of Desire and Despair Set in a 19th Century Operating Theatre Writer At London's Old Operating theatre (2012) 2013 Mashoga (My Wife) Writer Glasgow Any Objections Festival 2013 2015 The Inkanyamba Writer Market Theater Lab 2016 Fees Must Fall Writer The University of the Witwatersrand 2024, 2025, 2026 The Cry of Winnie Mandela Writer (adapted from the novel) The Market Theatre The Baxter Theatre
The Market Theatre
The Playhouse Company
National Arts Festival
Market Theatre
Writing awards and recognition 1st Prize Short Fiction Competition Award sponsored by the Times Literary Supplement (UK), 2009Blackman, Andrew, "A Writers' Life: And The Winner is...", 25 July 2009
References
External links