Verwelkingslied
Verwelkingslied ("wilting song") is a play by Breyten Breytenbach (1939-2024).
Contents
The original text
Breytenbach's last play was originally written in 2024 for as a one-hander for actress Antoinette Kellerman and director Marthinus Basson, intended as a contribution to Suidoosterfees's 21st anniversary celebrations. It is a fantasy for two voices om which the author himself is in a posthumous conversation with an old actress, ruminating on old age and death.
This first version was not performed or published.
Translations and adaptations
The text was subsequently reworked somewhat by Breytenbach himself, and then adapted as a two-hander by Tessa Louw, with additional contributions from the director Marí Borstlap.
Performance history in South Africa
2025: Performed at the Suidoosterfees from 30 April to 2 May, directed by Marí Borstlap with Antoinette Kellerman and Dawid Minnaar. Lighting design by Faheem Bardien, soundscape by Wilken Calitz and video design by Richard Thompson. Subsequently also done at the Aardklop festival
Sources
Programme of the 2025 Suidoosterfees: p.46.
Laetitia Pople. 2025. "Om te Breyten: Regisseur gesels oor digter en dramaturg se Verwelkingslied", Netwerk24 22 April 2025.[1]
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