Hello from Bertha
Hello from Bertha is a one-act play by Tennessee Williams (1946 and 1953).
Contents
The original text
A play about Bertha, a prostitute on the verge of being evicted from a low-class bordello. In a series of delusions she revisits her past loves while slipping toward disease and death.
The play premiered on television on the PBS program "Play of the Week: Four Plays by Tennessee" in 1961.
The text is included in the collection of thirteen one-act plays by Williams in the volume called 27 Wagons Full of Cotton And Other One-Act Plays (1966).
Translations and adaptations
Translated into Afrikaans as Hallo van Berta. Copy of the translation (dated 1984), found in the archives of the Stellenbosch Drama Department in 2022.
Performance history in South Africa
1971: Staged by the Libertas Theatre Club in 1971, directed by Marie van Heerden, with Brenda von Memerty (Goldie), Jean McDonald (Bertha), Annette Muller (Lena) and Laetitia Roos (Girl).
Sources
https://www.concordtheatricals.com/s/7523/hello-from-bertha
Copy of the Afrikaans translation (dated 1984), found in the archives of the Stellenbosch Drama Department in 2022.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays
Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays
Return to PLAYS III: Collections
Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances
Return to South African Festivals and Competitions
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page