Alle Paaie gaan na Rome

Alle Paaie gaan na Rome ("All roads go to Rome") is an Afrikaans play one-act play by Uys Krige.

Often incorrectly referred to as Alle Paaie lei na Rome, which is the literal Afrikaans translation of the saying "All roads lead to Rome".

For the collection of one-act plays with this title, see Alle Paaie gaan na Rome - Eenbedrywe

The original text
Set in Castelmanico, Italy, the play draws on Krige’s war-time experiences, it is a play of great simplicity and humanity, an indictment of the senselessness of war. It tells the story of an Italian girl and her grandmother trying to deal with the traumatising murder of their family by the Nazis. The young girl has been struck dumb by the killing of her family and her grandmother fruitlessly seeks a lift from soldiers to take the stricken girl to a doctor in Rome.

Published in Afrikaans in the collection Alle Paaie gaan na Rome - Eenbedrywe by Unie-Volkspers Beperk in 1949, and later in Woord en masker (1967)

Translations and adaptations
Translated into English by Uys Krige himself under the title All Roads Lead to Rome. Published in English translation in the collection The Sniper and other one-act plays by HAUM in 1964.

Performance history in South Africa
1957: Performed by the B.A.T. on 30 October, directed by Marge Olivier.

1967: Performed in English as All Roads Lead to Rome CAPAB's Theatre-Go-Round.

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