Tienuur Maak Die Deure Oop

Tienuur Maak Die Deure Oop (“At ten o’clock the doors open”) is an Afrikaans play by Pieter Fourie (1940-2021).

Also written Tienuur maak die deure oop and sometimes as 10-uur maak die deure oop

The original text

A light, satirical play about the political issues of the 1970s and more specifically the racial laws of South Africa, it is set in a bar that is about to open its door to all races (an event still a decade away at the time of writing).

Fourie completed the original play, called Pietman se Bloekom ("Pietman's Eucalyptus-tree"), in 1976, though it was not performed at that most propitious and relevant time, but was kept in a drawer for a decade. It was briefly considered for performance by PACT in 1983, but not done at the time, and was then finally submitted as a new play for the Kampustoneel initiative in 1986, being performed by students of the University of Stellenbosch, and had a professional run in 1987.

The name was changed to the more appropriate Tienuur Maak Die Deure Oop for the first performance in 1986 and retained thus afterwards, but it seems that the play's theme had lost impetus by the late 1980s and it disappeared from view, for no new productions have been recorded since. The text has never been published either.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1986: Staged as Tienuur Maak Die Deure Oop by the University Theatre of Stellenbosch at the Kampustoneel Festival in Pretoria in 1986, directed by Herman Pretorius. The production was also seen at the H.B. Thom Theatre on 11 and 12 April 1986.

1987: Staged as a professional production by PACOFS, it opened in the André Huguenet Theatre in Bloemfontein, then toured to various centres, including the Sasol Theatre, Sasolburg and ending its run in the State Theatre, Pretoria (opening on 24 May). Directed by Pierre van Pletzen with Andre-Jacques van der Merwe (Abie), Desonia Hartogh (Sina), Ivan Abrahams (Kortjan), George Barnes (Oubaas), Andre Samuels (Voorpraat), Leslie Mongezi (Jim Kommunis), André Lombard (Skittery Schalk), Dion Solomon (Tsjaka), Hannes Muller (Danie Viljee), Owen de Jager (Sersant), Blaise Koch (Yank), Johann Myburgh (Gerrie), Gerben Kamper (Dokter) and others. Decor and costumes by Chris Fourie.

Sources

Tienuur Maak Die Deure Oop theatre programme at Kampustoneel, 1986.

PACOFS theatre programme, 1987.

Petru & Carel Trichardt theatre programme collection.

Nico Luwes 2010. Pieter Fourie (1940-) se bydrae as Afrikaanse dramaturg en kunsbestuurder: 1965-2010. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State, pp.260, 322-331 [1]

Prompt text for the Stellenbosch production, held in the Drama Department archive, University of Stellenbosch

Go to ESAT Bibliography