Die Negersklaven

Die Negersklaven ("The Negro slaves") is a German historical-dramatic tableau ("ein historisch-dramatisches Gemählde") in three acts by August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (1761-1819).

The original text
An anti-slavery work based on records of and writings about the slave trade. First published in 1795 or 1796 (by  Kummer in Leipzig, and  Wallishauser in Vienna) and first produced in 1796

Translations and adaptations
Translated into Dutch as De Negers ("The Negroes") by Pieter Gerardus Witsen Geysbeek and published in Amsterdam by  Joannes Roelof Poster, 1796. Performed in Amsterdam in 1976.

Performance history in South Africa
1849: Performed in Dutch (and wrongly advertised apparently as De Neger - "The Negro") by Tot Oefening en Vermaak on 26 September in the Drury Lane Theatre in Cape Town, with as afterpiece  Vier Schildwachten op éénen Post (Vogel) and a "divertissement" called Geene Bandieten (an original work by an unknown South African author). Thus an evening devoted to a protest about the slave trade and forced labour.

Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page