Scampolo

Scampolo by Italian playwright Dario Niccodemi (1874-1934) [1]. A melodrama about a young waif.

Translations and adaptations

Hugely popular in Dutch (as Overschotje - lit "Little leftover"), became a long term success in Afrikaans (Oorskotjie, tr J. Mulder) for Paul de Groot and Wena Naudé.

Translated by Mrs A.E Carinus-Holzhausen entitled Oorskotjie from the original Italian.

Performance history in South Africa

1925-1928: Dutch version first produced in South Africa by De Groot and some amateurs at the Railway Institute, Cape Town in January 1925. First produced in Afrikaans on 7th September 1925 at the Premier Mine near Pretoria, before moving to the Pretoria Opera House on the 10th. , and later to Johannesburg where it was performed in the Standard Theatre on 4 January 1926 starting its national professional tour, with financial help of African Theatres, ending in Cape Town's Opera House. When the Afrikaanse Toneelgeselskap regained the rights from African Theatres in 1928 and took it on an extended tour with Wena Naudé in the lead role, also featuring Hennie Borcherds, Hendrik Hanekom, Willem van Zyl, Mathilde Hanekom, it became one of the all time box-offices successes in Afrikaans theatre history. Naudé in particular was immensely popular played it on and off for many years, later even founding a company called the Oorskotjie Geselskap to take it on tour.

Sources

Die Burger 8 January 1926.

Binge, 1969

Vertolkende Kunste, HSRC, 1972.

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