Op Hoop van Zegen

Op Hoop van Zegen (lit. "In the hope of being blessed" or "Hoping for the best"), is a play in four acts by the Dutch playwright Herman Heijermans (1864–1924) [1].

The orignal text

The action takes place in a Dutch fishing village in 1900, with the conflict between the fishermen and their employer ending in tragedy with the unsound boat ironically named Op Hoop van Zegen setting out to sea and sinking with all hands and the owner pocketing the insurance money.

First performed in Amsterdam on 24 December,1900.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into English as The Good Hope, and first performed in English by the Stage Society on 26 April 1903.

Translated in 1964 into Afrikaans as Op Hoop van Seën by Annatjie Vorster and Jo Gevers.

Another Afrikaans translaton was done later, also under the title Op Hoop van Seën, by Karel Schoeman - published as Op hoop van seën: 'n spel van die see in vier bedrywe by Human & Rousseau, 1978.

Performance history in South Africa

1964: Op Hoop van Seën, the Vorster/Gevers Afrikaans translation was staged by the University Theatre of Stellenbosch, directed by Gevers, with Wena Naudé (Kniertjie), Deon Joubert (Geert), Henk Hugo (Barend), Isabel Combrink (Jo), Pieter Fourie (Kobus), Jo Gevers/Fred Engelen (Daantjie), Fred Stephens (Clemens Bos), Cathy de la Guerre (Mathilde), Erica van Soelen (Clementine), Piet van Straaten (Simon), Annette Faure (Marietjie), Machiel Eksteen (Mees), Peter Grobbelaar (Kaps & Jelle), Christine Basson (Saart) and Carmen Haddad (Truus). Decor by Jo Gevers & Henk Hugo, costumes by Elise Ziervogel and management by Willem de la Guerre.

1982: Op Hoop van Seën', Schoeman's Afrikaans translation, was directed by Pieter Fourie for KRUIK-Toneel opening at the Nico Malan Theatre 6 February 1982 and at the H.B. Thom Theatre 2 March 1982. The cast: Lynita Crofford, Dawie Maritz, Johan Esterhuizen, Russel Savadier, Christo Potgieter, Lida Meiring, Antoinette Kellermann, Louw Verwey, David van der Merwe, Marié Human, Marthinus Basson, Anna Cloete, Neels Coetzee, Sandra Ferreira, Terry Greyvenstein, Brian Kennedy, Eduard Bantjes. Decor and costumes Dicky Longhurst, lighting Pieter de Swardt.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op_Hoop_van_Zegen

UTS theatre programme, 1964.

UTS theatre pamphlet

Listing of productions in the UTS programme for Arms and the Man, H.B. Thom Theatre, Stellenbosch, 1968 (held in ESAT Archive)

Op Hoop van Seën theatre programme, KRUIK 1982, donated by Tony Fletcher, held by NELM: [Collection: FLETCHER, Jill]: 2005. 75. 19. 9.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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