Dowwe Dolla

Dowwe Dolla (also styled #DowweDolla), the satirical stage persona and alter ego of the actress and comedienne Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck. A "dumb blonde" comic character and social and political satirist, Dowwe Dolla is one of the best-known creations in Afrikaans comedy.

Biography

The character was devised by Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck while she was a student at the Stellenbosch University Drama Department, as part of a set of cabaret acts created with Pedro Kruger. Meyer-Rödenbeck has said she came to play the role herself only because there was no money to hire an actress for the act. Dowwe Dolla became a staple of her stage career from 1992 and grew into a long-running, one-woman touring franchise. The character is instantly recognisable by her blonde hair, stiletto heels and ever-present lollipop, and trades in topical political and social satire delivered from a knowingly "blonde" point of view; Meyer-Rödenbeck has described her as volksbesit (a national treasure). The early texts were written by Hennie van Greunen; from the 2010s the scripts, lyrics and direction were largely the work of Jurgen Human.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Dowwe Dolla was presented in a long series of one-woman shows, chiefly at the Afrikaans arts festivals, among them the KKNK and the Woordfees. The early productions, scripted by Hennie van Greunen, included Krismisdoos (1998), Ereksie '99, Vigs en Gesond, Staatsslet and Dolla Gee Haar Beste in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Later shows included Dowwe Dolla (KKNK, 2008); Dowwe Dolla: Geskud, nie gepluk nie (Woordfees, 2010); Dowwe Dolla doen dit staanstaan! (Woordfees, 2011); Dowwe Dolla Dink Diep (KKNK and Woordfees, 2013); and #DowweDolla (KKNK, 2016), which introduced the spin-off character Ouma Dowwe Dolla, the persona's grandmother. Dowwe Dolla: Nou of nooit (Woordfees, 2020, and touring in 2021) was produced by Arena Produksiehuis, written and directed by Jurgen Human, with Coenraad Rall as musical director and pianist.

Meyer-Rödenbeck retired the character at the end of 2021 with a farewell tour, Dowwe Dolla se Koebaaiwaaitoere, so named because the COVID-19 pandemic had prevented the planned 2020 goodbye; the final performance was on 13 December 2021. The franchise continued through the grandmother character in Ouma is op Pad (2024) and Ouma en die ou koeie (2026), both written by Jurgen Human and performed with Coenraad Rall on piano.

Awards, etc

Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck won an FNB Vita Award (Free State region, 2000/2001) for Best Performance in a Comedy for Dowwe Dolla.

Sources

'Dowwe Dolla is back on her beat', IOL, 6 December 2002.

'Dowwe Dolla still up where she belongs', IOL.

'Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck', Vrouekeur.

'Dowwe Dolla', FinGlobal, 15 December 2021.

Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck entry, ESAT.

US Woordfees festival programmes, 2010, 2011 and 2020.

Dowwe Dolla website: www.dowwedolla.co.za

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