Diva

Diva by Amanda Strydom (1956-)

Diva is a South African solo cabaret-theatre piece, written and performed by Amanda Strydom. In a city theatre fallen from its former glory, an ageing singer, Beatrice le Seur, sits in her dressing room recalling a vanished era; the work is Strydom's plea, with pathos and humour, for the preservation and worth of the arts in South Africa. Also billed as Amanda Strydom in Diva.

The original text

Written and performed by Amanda Strydom, Diva was her third one-woman show, conceived as a response to the withdrawal of state funding from theatres, companies and orchestras across South Africa in the mid-1990s. First publication not traced.*

Performance history in South Africa

1995: First performed and toured by Amanda Strydom, including at the Absa KKNK, the State Theatre in Pretoria, the Opera House in Port Elizabeth and the André Huguenot Theatre in Bloemfontein. In 1996 Diva was filmed and broadcast by SABC2. The critic Barrie Hough (Beeld) praised Strydom's performance.

2010: Revived at the US Woordfees, Stellenbosch, in the Sanlam nagKAT on 5 March, as part of the festival's cabaret programme. Directed by Gerrit Schoonhoven, with musical direction by Janine Neethling.

Sources

'Woordfees 2010: Volledige program', LitNet, 18 January 2010.

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