The Light of Heart

The Light of Heart is a play by Emlyn Williams (1905 -1987)[1]

The original text

A study of a drunken actor, the play was first produced (directed by Williams) at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End between 21 February and 8 June 1940 and at the Globe Theatre, London, in 1941 and later ran for 55 performances at the Guild Theatre on Broadway.

The text was published by Heinemann, 1940.

Translations and adaptations

The play was twice filmed: In 1942 it was adapted into the Hollywood film Life Begins at Eight-Thirty (directed by Irving Pichel) and in 1962 it was made into a West German film called Life Begins at Eight.

Translated into Afrikaans and adapted for radio as Die Jeugdige van Hart ("the young of heart") by Morkel van Tonder. The piece was broadcast in the series Meesterdrama on the Afrikaans service of the SABC on 18 September, 1964.

Performance history in South Africa

1943: The South African premiere was done by the Johannesburg REPS, directed by Taubie Kushlick, with Frank Douglass.

1964: Broadcast in Afrikaans as Die Jeugdige van Hart by the SABC Afrikaans service on 18 September.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_of_Heart

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emlyn_Williams

Trek 7(18):16 1943.

World Drama, by Allardyce Nicoll. Harrap, 1949.

Copy of the radio script for Die Jeugdige van Hart by Morkel van Tonder, held in the Drama Department archive, University of Stellenbosch.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page