Controversial playwright Raisedon Baya will next month publish a collection of some of his best plays that have over the years provoked the wrath of the government for their hard- hitting social commentary.

Baya - who together with playwright turned politician, Cont Mhlanga, have created probably the highest number of plays that were banned by the police last year -- was awarded a grant by the Culture Fund Trust to publish a collection of four of his most successful plays.

It will feature the play Super Patriots and Morons, which was nominated for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award last year.

Another offering, Crocodile of Zambezi which is a tale of a fictitious murderous leader who is not willing to relinquish power, will also be included. The play was banned by the police for its political satire.

Crocodile of Zambezi is currently being used by Pen International in its freedom of expression campaigns for 2008.

The other two plays to be included are the multi-award winning Madmen and Fools, a winner of three awards at the 2005 National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA), and Critical Moments that tackled corruption in the banking sector.

Baya welcomed the Culture Fund grant, which he said came after a series of unsuccessful bids, but lamented the absence of published plays in the country.

"There is virtually nothing new in terms of locally published plays in the libraries and the bookshops," he said in an interview. "It is like theatre is completely dead. If one moves around the bookshops, all there is are plays for 15-year-olds published under the One Stage series."