PACT Youth Company

PACT Youth Company was a bilingual company of young performers doing plays for children and theatre in education productions at schools in the Transvaal province.

Known as PACT Youth Theatre, TRUK Jeugteater (in Afrikaans), also referred to as PACT Children's Theatre when performing plays written for children.

History

PACT Youth Company

This company was a continuation of the NTO Youth Group (NTO Jeuggroep), transferred to the newly formed PACT and existing from 1963 till 1974. Initially run by Eghard van der Hoven , with members of the former NTO company, as such as Cobus Rossouw, Jannie Gildenhuys and Carel Trichardt.

Later members included Don Lamprecht, Christopher Hale, Jan Prinsloo, Price Coetzee, George Ballot, Billy Egan, Henk Hugo, B. Niemand, Adéle van Blommenstein, Lorraine Elberg and Lynette Marais.

They were funded by a grant from the Transvaal Education Department and other educational authorities to do theatre for schools.

Besides the school prescribed work, the company also produced a number of original plays specifically written and/or translated for the children's company by local authors, under the name of PACT Children's Theatre.

Productions

The plays include works such as:

Date unknown: The Old Kabobly Tree

1967: Beauty and the Beast

1967/1968: Die Dansende Donkie

1968: Jack and the Turtle-doves, Professor Poffel en Professor Moffel.

PACT Playwork

When Robin Malan became head of the group in 1974, he changed the name to PACT Playwork. Theatre in Education (TIE) now formed the basis of their work. In programs for schools the objectives thus lay beyond the simple retelling/performing of the story, to also encompass and highlight relevant socio-political issues. For example, in their programme on Romeo and Juliet, directed by Peter Terry, the text was used as a springboard for exploring the notions of prejudice in South Africa and Northern Ireland, by including scenes scripted by the actors to prompt debate by the audience. Other TIE-productions included All in a Tangle (about factory workers), The Lamont Case, (about the tarring and feathering of an Afrikaner dissident) and Going on at Dingemalerie-Donag-Dell of which only half the play was scripted and the rest changed from one performance to the other, depending on the audience’s reaction. In addition to its TIE work, PACT Playwork also presented at least one children’s theatre production each year.

After Malan left in 1978, having clashed with the authorities about his work, Alwyn Swart took over as director of PACT Playwork. He devised and directed socially pertinent programs based on Afrikaans literature and extended TIE to nursery schools. Swart was replaced by Peter Terry in the late 1980s.

Productions

1974: All in a Tangle/Op 'n Hoop Geknoop, Star Bright

1975: Old King Cole, WAM! (A Magical Music Tour)

1976: Jabberwocky Hopscotch, or Drag on the Dragons, Brer Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh

1977: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory... and Beyond, A Christmas Carol

1979: The Great Wopperloop and Zoomerang

1980: Double Trouble

1981: Lappies die Lappiesmous

1982: School for Clowns

Sources

PACT Children's Theatre Programme for Jack and the Turtle-doves.

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

For more information

See also National Youth Theatre, PACT and PACT Playwork

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