Cas van Rensburg
Cas van Rensburg (1942-2018) was a Jungian analyst and a versatile and well-read journalist, critic, author and playwright.
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Biography
Born and raised in the Eastern Free State, he studied for a BA degree in philosophy and psychology at the University of the Orange Free State. This course also included classical languages. This was followed by studies in Jungian psychology with Marianne Jacoby in London. This apparently led to his interest in theatre.
He went on to a career as journalist, beginning with Die Burger in Cape Town, writing on everything from the natural sciences to the arts, the politics of the day, and literature. For a while he was the foreign correspondent for Die Burger, before moving to Beeld in Johannesburg and ultimately becoming the co-founder (with Piet Muller) and text editor of the journal Insig. In his capacity as book editor for the journal, he acted as a judge for many of the literary awards on offer in South Africa.
Having continued with his studies in psychology, he established himself as a Jungian analyst of renown, and was also for a while a part-time professor at Medunsa (the medical university of South Africa), teaching courses in Jungian psychology.
After his retirement from Insig, he wrote a number of books strongly influenced by Jung, among them Die sprokie van Diana, prinses van Wallis, Sneeuwitjie en al die stories wat ons leef ("The fairytale of Diana, Princess of Wales, Snow White and all the stories we live") in 1999 (reworked as Die prinses in elke vrou, i.ed. "The princess in every woman" in 2012) and Jou drome – jou onbewuste het ál die antwoorde ("Your Dreams- Your subconscious has all the answers") in 2000.
Van Rensburg died in Onrusrivier in May 2018.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
He wrote articles and reviews about cultural matters for a number of publications.
In the middle-1980s he was the literary advisor and resident dramatist for PACT in Pretoria.
At this time he began to write plays, including Die Tweede Dood van Robey Leibbrandt (produced by PACT, 1984 and at the KKNK in 1987), Om Hendrik Weg te Bring (KKNK, 1986), Oscar in Afrika (Aardklop, 1999), and Die Duif in Hoë Bome ("The pigeon in high trees", Hawston-toneelgroep, 2013).*
After his retirement to the coastal village of Onrus, he became a founder member of the organizing committee for the Kalfiefees arts festival in Hermanus, and a mentor for the Hawston-dramavereniging (also known as the Hawston-toneelgroep), a drama group founded in the nearby fishing village of Hawston. Among his protégés in this group was the actor and playwright Sherman Pharo.
Sources
"Cas van Rensburg sterf". Die Burger, 2018-05-04.
Erika Terblanche. 2018. "Cas van Rensburg (1942–2018)" LitNet-Skrywersalbum, 2018-07-12[1]
Draft article on Reza de Wet, by Paul Boekkooi (2018).
http://www.kalfiefees-hermanus.co.za/stigterslid-cas-van-rensburg/
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