Die Generaal
There are two Afrikaans plays named Die Generaal ("The General"):
Contents
Die Generaal by George Louw (1972)
A full-length play
The original text
It was first published by Tafelberg Uitgewers in 1972.
Performances
1972: Presented by KRUIK Afrikaanse Toneel at the Nico Malan Theatre in June .
Sources
Die Generaal by Mike van Graan (2007)
Also available in an English version as The General, this is a play about a hardened criminal who aspires to become a general in one of the notorious prison gangs.
The original text
Inspired by Bok van Blerk’s controversial song De la Rey (about the Boer War general and hero), the text was originally written in English (The General) as a commissioned work for the Aardklop National Arts Festival, in 2007.
The dialogue in the text was then translated in character by the multilingual cast during the first week of rehearsals, and came to include various languages such as Tswana and English, though with most of the play being in Afrikaans. The rest of the text was translated into Afrikaans by the author, aided by Gideon van Eeden.
The play won the Fleur du Cap Best New Script Award in 2008
The text is unpublished, but is available in Afrikaans and English versions from the author (see MVG website[1]).
Performances
2007: Aardklop National Arts Festival, Potchefstroom (25-29 September). Directed and designed by Jaco Bouwer, assisted by Wolf Britz, with Lorraine Burger, Brendon Daniels, Leanna Dreyer, Christopher Gxalaba, Leon Kruger, Wiseman Sithole and AJ van der Merwe. Stage management and set by Kobus Verhoef and sound track by James Webb.
Sources
Die Generaal/The General (2009), MVG Productions website[2]
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