Ek is nie Danie
Ek is nie Danie by Danie Marais (1971-)
The original text
Ek is nie Danie is an Afrikaans South African one-man music-theatre production, described by its makers as "rock-teater", woven from a selection of poems by Danie Marais. Performed by Albert Pretorius with the musician Schalk Joubert, it tells the story of a middle-aged white man making sense of a failed marriage in Germany and the privileged unease of middle-class South Africa, exploring parenthood, the search for belonging, and a past that chokes the present. The title functions at once as a denial and an affirmation, and recurs as a theme-song performed in moments of cathartic release.
The text is a selection from Danie Marais's four poetry collections — In die buitenste ruimte (2006), Al is die maan 'n misverstand (2009), Solank verlange die sweep swaai (2014) and Ek en jy bestaan nie (2024) — together with one new poem written as an introduction. The production was conceived by Niel van Deventer. The eighteen poems used in the production were also published in book form under the title Ek is nie Danie, containing their full versions.
Performance history in South Africa
2025: Premiered at the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees as a production of the festival, directed by Nico Scheepers, with music composed and directed by Schalk Joubert and the concept by Niel van Deventer. Performed by Albert Pretorius, with Schalk Joubert providing live music, in the Spier Ouditorium, Stellenbosch, from 14 to 19 October. The production runs about 75 minutes and is performed in Afrikaans. Reviewers described it as a hybrid of poetry, music and confessional theatre, in which the performers sing, enact and interweave fragments of different poems rather than simply reciting them.
2026: Performed at the KKNK, Oudtshoorn, from 28 March to 4 April, where it received the Kanna award for Best Presentation: Music Theatre. Later in the year it was staged at the Momentum Aardklop Nasionale Kunstefees, Potchefstroom, in the Totiussaal.
Sources
Ek is nie Danie, Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees 2025 programme. https://woordfees.co.za/en/program/ek-is-nie-danie/
'Resensie: "Ek is nie Danie" 'n toonbeeld van ons nuwe woordkuns-genre', Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees INK festival newspaper, 2025.
'Vier Kannas vir plekspesifieke teater by KKNK', George Herald, 18 May 2026.
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