Die Byl refers to two dramatic works:

Die Byl ("The Axe") a one-act play by C. Louis Leipoldt (1880–1947).

The original text

Set in the Cape Colony of the 1650s, where Cape Governor Jan van Riebeeck and his men become aware of a murder that has been committed in the settlement. The central figure, an Englishman at the Cape who had acted as executioner to behead Charles I, never appears on stage, but his story is revealed in a conversation of between three people. To build up the tension, the conversation is constantly interrupted in various ways.

Unpublished during the author's life, the play was included in the collection Vier Uitgesoekte Eenbedrywe by F.C.L. Bosman, and published by Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel in 1949.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

No performance on record to date.

Sources

https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Louis_Leipoldt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Louis_Leipoldt

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Die Byl a TV series (2016-2025)

The original text

Based on real detective Piet Byleveld, it is a crime series set in Cape Town, in a fictional elite unit of the South African Police Service's violent crime division, with the brilliant sleuth "Piet van Bijl" (colloquially referred to as "Byl", i.e. "axe"), as central figure.

Produced by Elmarie Botha and Herman Binge for Lion's Head Productions, written by Elmarie Botha and a range of individuals and directed by Regardt van den Bergh and a large team of writers, it features a huge cast of South African actors, with Waldemar Schultz as "Kolonel Piet van der Bijl" ("Die Byl"),Lika Berning as "Kaptein Lena Evans", Milan Murray as "Advokaat Nicki Swanepoel" and Marvin-Lee Beukes as "Kaptein Juan Stuurman".

Broadcast on KykNET (DStv channel 144) as well as on Showmax, the series ran for 6 seasons (57 episodes) from 2016 to 2025.

(For more details see the IMDb website[1] and/or the kykNET website entry on the programme[2])