Wilma Stockenström

Wilma Stockenström (1933-) is a South African actress, poet, novelist and playwright. (Also credited in some cases as Wilma Kirsipuu.)

Biography
She was married to the Estonian linguist Ants Kirsipuu, who passed away in 2003.

Training
Studied drama at the University of Stellenbosch where she obtained a BA in Drama in 1952 under Robert Mohr.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
She wrote two one-act plays, Katlagters and Op Deurreis that were published in the periodicals Wurm and Contrast. She also wrote a play for children, Dawid, die Dik Dom Kat published by DALRO and Trippens se Patatta. **

Her play, Die Laaste Middagmaal, (along with Sheila Roberts’s My Weekend, Too) won the one-act play competition which was held at The Space in 1972/3 and was performed by them. *

She went on to work as a freelance actress for The Space Theatre ** and **. Among her key performances were in God's Forgotten (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1976), Strike Up the Banned (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1976), **. She played in 'n Bruid in die Môre, The Chairs and Drie Susters directed by Robert Mohr. She starred in Barney Simon’s production of Fugard’s Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act together with Vivian Solomons at the Market Theatre in 1979.

She has also appeared in Agt Vroue, Hedda Gabler, The Seagull, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds, Ampie Oppie Diekens, Saterdag, Sondag, Maandag.

She wrote the play Die Patatta and co-operated with Ants Kirsipuu in translating Andorra and Leonce en Lena from the German into Afrikaans. She translated Die Dans van die Reier, Die Paradysboot, WAM (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) from their respective original languages into Afrikaans.

She also became an excellent film and television actress, appearing in films such as ''The Guest'.

Awards, etc
She is one of a handful of writers to have won the Hertzog Prize in two different categories. She won it first for poetry in 1977 and then for fiction in 1991.

She has been awarded:

1977: Hertzog Prize for Poetry for Van vergetelheid en van glans.

1984: CNA, Louis Luyt and Ou Mutual Prizes for Monsterverse.

1988: Grinzane Cavour Prize for Spedizione al Baobab.

1991: WA Hofmeyr and Hertzog Prizes (for prose) for Abjater Wat So Lag.

2008: SALA Literary Lifetime Award.

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