The Bewitched Tree

The Bewitched Tree is a glove puppet version of an African folk legend, dramatised by Lily Herzberg.

The puppet text
The original text was based on an African folk legend about an evil otter who lives in a tree he has bewitched and destroys the crops of an old man, Moeti. All efforts by everyone, including a warrior, the elephant and the lion, to kill the otter fail and finally it is the intelligent hare who succeeds and marries Moeti's daughter, the beautiful Malatsepa.

Adapted and dramatized for puppets by Lily Herzberg.

Puppetry performances
1971: First performed with glove puppets by the Cape Puppet Players and directed by Lily Herzberg with Tony Fletcher as chief puppeteer, aided by the puppeteers Myra Bloomberg, Greet Snoek, Ruth Yudelowitz, Dennis Bettesworth, Cleone Bond-Smith, Sia Cohen, Ronald Fenton, Ruth James, Dick Snoek and Norman Sargeant.

1979: Performed by Cecily Bova and her puppeteers at the Baxter Theatre in 1979.

= Film version (1971)= A filmed version of Lily Herzberg's text as performed with glove puppets by the Cape Puppet Players was made by Lewis Lewis in 1971. The puppets directed by Lily Herzberg, with Tony Fletcher (Chief Puppeteer), Myra Bloomberg, Greet Snoek, Ruth Yudelowitz, Dennis Bettesworth, Cleone Bond-Smith, Sia Cohen, Ronald Fenton, Ruth James, Dick Snoek and Norman Sargeant.

Source
Barrow, Brian & Williams-Short, Yvonne (eds.). 1988. ''Theatre Alive! The Baxter Story 1977-1987''.

Freddy Ogterop E-mail communication 14 June 2016.

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