Die Skerpskutter

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• Die Sluipskutter

("The Sniper") is an Afrikaans one-act play by Uys Krige.

Also referred to as Die Skerpskutter in some Afrikaans sources and The Sniper in English

The original play

An emotional and harrowing piece about patriotism, obedience to authority, overbearing grief and man's personal integrity, set in World War 2. Set in Italy, some days before the end of the War, a German soldier is arrested and executed by South African soldiers. A gripping drama about senseless acts in wartime.

Published in the collection Die Sluipskutter by Afrikaanse Pers Boekhandel in, 1951 along with Die Ongeskrewe Stuk and Die Gees van die Water) and in Vier Eenbedrywe by Van Schaik (1968, and , .

Translations and adaptations

Krige's own translation (as The Sniper) was published in The Sniper and Other One-act Plays by HAUM in 1964, as well as in Plays from Near and Far (eds Guy Butler and Tim Peacock, pub. Maskew Miller, 1972), Four South African One-Act Plays by Nasou and Play Workshop. Ten One Act Plays by Oxford University Press.

Performance history in South Africa

1969: The Sniper performed in English as a lunch-time presentation by CAPAB.

Sources

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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