The Love of the Nightingale

The Love of the Nightingale is a play by Timberlake Wertenbaker[1]

The original text

The play takes a feminist look at the Ancient Greek legend of the rape of Philomela by her brother-in-law Tereus, and the gruesome revenge undertaken by Philomela and her sister Procne. It was a commissioned work for the Royal Shakespeare Company and first performed in 1989 at The Other Place, Straford.

The text was first published in Plays one by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Faber and Faber, 1996.

The play is a particularly popular text with university drama departments in South Africa.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Afrikaans by Arnold Blumer as Die Nagtegaal se Liefde.

Performance history in South Africa

1993: Performed by NAPAC Drama, with music by Siva Devar (1957-2003).

1998: Performed by the Rhodes University Drama Department, directed by Andrew Buckland and Dion van Niekerk in September.

2000: Presented by the University of the Witwatersrand School of Dramatic Art at the Wits Amphitheatre opening 17 May 2000, directed by Barbara Rubin with students of the Department in the cast.

2002: The Afrikaans version was directed by Janice Honeyman for the University of Stellenbosch Drama Department, featuring students of the Department.

2022: Performed by students of the Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies at the University of Cape Town, 12 - 15 October.