20120522
AP
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's most famous township, Soweto, is getting its first state-of-the-art theater that could spark a theater revival in the area known for its apartheid-era works that exposed the horrors of racist rule.

The 150 million rand (about $18 million) complex that opens later this week is part of an ambitious redevelopment plan by the city of Johannesburg for Soweto.

Apartheid planners saw Soweto as little more than a dormitory for Johannesburg black workers. But it has long been a cosmopolitan center of political and artistic life for black South Africans.

Since apartheid ended in 1994, Soweto has seen the building of new parks, homes and malls, and the renovation of schools. The tiny Soweto home where Nelson Mandela once lived has been turned into a museum, near other historic sites that draw tourists from around the world.