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''Amper, Vrystaat'' by [[Nico Scheepers]] (19**-)

== The original text ==

''Amper, Vrystaat'' is an Afrikaans South African dark comedy created collaboratively by [[Nico Scheepers]] with its cast in a workshop manner. It tells the story of three estranged sisters who reunite for their mother's funeral in the fictional Free State town of Amper, after the mother's lonely death sets the townspeople talking. First performed at the [[Vrystaat Kunstefees]] in 2015, it became one of the most widely travelled Afrikaans festival comedies of its period.

[[Nico Scheepers]] is credited as writer, director and designer; [[Antoinette Louw]] as a lead actress, the producer and a co-writer; and the remaining cast members, [[Cintaine Schutte]] and [[Milan Murray]], are also credited as co-writers. According to Schutte's account, [[Antoinette Louw]] and [[Milan Murray]] had long wanted to work together and approached Scheepers to direct a play for them; he proposed that Schutte join the cast, after which the four developed the story together.

The work is built almost entirely from interlocking monologues spoken directly to the audience, with sustained dialogue reserved for a Christmas-lunch scene and the closing funeral scene. Although some festivals programmed it as a drama, its makers maintain that it is a comedy, albeit a dark one, working through themes of death, marital infidelity, sexuality and addiction. In 2016 Scheepers was nominated for an [[ATKV-Woordveertjie]] for best drama text for ''Amper, Vrystaat'' and ''[[Rooivalk]]'', winning for the latter.

The final script is reproduced as Addendum B to [[Maria Susanna Hattingh]]'s 2018 MDram thesis at the [[University of Stellenbosch]], which analyses ''Amper, Vrystaat'' and [[Christiaan Olwagen]]'s ''[[N is vir Neurose]]'' as Afrikaans festival comedies; the play is otherwise unpublished.

== Performance history in South Africa ==

2015: Premiered at the [[Vrystaat Kunstefees]] (then known as the Vryfees), Bloemfontein, in the kykNET Scaena theatre, directed and designed by [[Nico Scheepers]] and produced by [[Antoinette Louw]], with a cast of [[Antoinette Louw]] (Bea), [[Cintaine Schutte]] (Annatjie) and [[Milan Murray]] (Liz). The minimalist staging placed the three women on separate islands of rock, each isolated by a hanging lightbulb, and avoided depicting the town of Amper directly. The production won the award for Best Debut Production at the festival.

2016: Performed at [[Die Boer]], Durbanville (3 February); at the [[Woordfees|US Woordfees]], Stellenbosch (9, 12 and 13 March, at Hoërskool Lückhoff); and at the Potchefstroom Festival ([[Aardklop]]), staged in the Potchefstroom Gimnasium school hall. At the 2016 kykNET [[Fiësta]] awards an excerpt was performed; the production received several nominations, and [[Nico Scheepers]] won the award for Best Design for ''Amper, Vrystaat'' and ''Die Dag is Bros''.

2017: Performed again at the [[Woordfees|US Woordfees]], Stellenbosch, two years after its debut.

The play had an unusually long life for a festival comedy, performing at all the major Afrikaans festivals and also in independent theatres nationally. Scheepers later created a companion "brother" piece, ''[[Nêrens, Noord-Kaap]]'', which debuted at the [[Vrystaat Kunstefees]] in 2017.

== Sources ==

Hattingh, Maria Susanna. 2018. ''Finding balance: a study of the text and context of two Afrikaans festival comedy scripts''. Unpublished MDram thesis. Stellenbosch: [[University of Stellenbosch|Stellenbosch University]]. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/103790

'Vrystaat Kunstefees / Arts Festival / Tsa-Botjhaba', ''[[LitNet]]'', 2015. https://www.litnet.co.za/vrystaat-kunstefees-arts-festival-tsa-botjhaba/

'Amper, Vrystaat', ''[[Woordfees|US Woordfees]]'' 2016 programme.

Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

== Return to ==

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Amper, Vrystaat - Revision history

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