Sizwe Banzi is Dead, by the South African playwright Athol Fugard, opened to ecstatic reviews is New York. The performances of the two back South African actors who make up the cast came in for particularly glowing praise, but some critics felt the play treats the subject of apartheid too lightly, sidestepping the harshness and brutality. Still, this is definitely a play worth seeing. At the Charles Playhouse, 76 Warrenton St. In Boston, tonight at 8 and tomorrow at 2:30 and 8.

The Tempest is opening the season of the Boston Shakespeare Company. This play is full of magic and romance and beautiful language, and if you've somehow managed to go this long without seeing it, you should take advantage of this opportunity. Tonight and tomorrow at 8 at the Boston Shakespeare Company, Berkeley and Marlborough Streets in Back Bay.

Krapp's Last Tape, Play, Come and Go, and other short plays by Samuel Beckett are being performed at the Newbury St. Theater, Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St. in Boston, tonight and tomorrow at 8. Tickets are $2.50.