Tot Hiertoe en Verder

Tot Hiertoe en Verder ("To here and further") is an Afrikaans one-act play by Dawid Minnaar (1956-).

The original text

The play depicts a middle-aged, life-weary mother who tries to create a better life for herself and her children through her illusions. However, her three children are all failures: the son, J.C., is addicted to marijuana, the eldest daughter, Lilian, supports the family through prostitution and the youngest, Bekkie, is mentally retarded. They repeatedly bring her back to reality with a shock, but each time she manages to retreat back into her protective dream world. Until the terrifying climax.

Written for performance by the Stellenbosch University's student dramatic society, USAT, while the author was a student at Stellenbosch.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1979: Performed at the Student Festival at the Grahamstown Arts Festival by the Stellenbosch University's student dramatic society, USAT, directed by Christa Kotze, with Adele Coetzee, Willie Lategan and Jolette Payne.

Sources

A copy of the typed text of the play, dated 1979, was found in the Stellenbosch Drama Department archives in 2022 and is now held in the Performing Arts Research Collection (PARC) at the Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation, with offices at Pieter Okkers House, 7 Joubert Street, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Elmarie van Niekerk, "USAT suksesvol in Grahamstad", Die Matie 27 July, 1979: p.2.

Go to ESAT Bibliography