The Fall

There are two South African plays by this name:

The Fall by Anthony Delius (1916-1989).

The original text

The full title of the play was The Fall: A Play about Rhodes, and dealt with the life of Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902)[1].

The text was first published by Human and Rousseau in 1960.

Performance history in South Africa

1960: Presented by National Theatre Organisation during the Union Festival, 1960, produced by Victor Melleney starring Jennie Gratus, Pietro Nolte, Patricia Baker, Joan Lovelace, John Boulter (as Rhodes), Jimmy Mentis, Norman Kelly-Herde, John Bier, Bryan Vanden, Anthony James, Anta Fraser, Frank Wise, Stanley Walsh. Decor by Frank Graves, costumes by Doreen Graves, production manager Michal Grobbelaar. It was the first official English work to be done by NTO in the newly renovated Kamertoneel, now renamed the National Theatre, in Pretoria, opening 28 June 1960.

Sources

The Fall theatre programme (NTO) 1960.

F.I.J. van Rensburg. 1960. " The Fall ", Standpunte, Jaargang XIII, Nr 4: pp. 62-66 (a review of the original production)

Go to ESAT Bibliography

The Fall by Ameera Conrad, Cleo Raatus, Kgomotso Khunoane, Oarabile Ditsele, Sihle Mnqwazana, Sizwesandile Mnisi, Tankiso Mamabolo and Thando Mangcu

The original text

A docudrama collaboratively devised and workshopped by the original cast of UCT students as a reaction to and reflection on the South African student protests in 2015 and part of 2016, the play chronicles the #RhodesMustFall and subsequent student-led movements in South Africa, which alerted the country and the world to the latent ongoing issues brought about by colonialism and Apartheid. It details the experiences of seven students within this movement and how they deal with their traumas, while still moving towards activism for a free de-colonised education.

The text published in the Baxter Junkets Series 06 (July 2017) and by Oberon Books (series: Oberon Modern Plays) in September, 2017.

The play has been the nominee for and recipient of a large number of local and international awards, including winner of an Encore Award at the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards (2017); The Stage Edinburgh Award for acting (2017); The Scotsman Fringe First for New Writing (2017) and nominee for Best Ensemble acting at the Naledi Theatre Awards (2018).

Performance history in South Africa

2017: Performed at the Baxter Theatre Centre, Cape Town, directed by Clare Stopford with Ameera Conrad, Cleo Raatus, Kgomotso Khunoane, Oarabile Ditsele, Sihle Mnqwazana, Sizwesandile Mnisi, Tankiso Mamabolo and Thando Mangcu

2017: Performed at the Woordfees, Stellenbosch

2018: Performed at the South African State Theatre, Pretoria

International performance history

Among its international performances have been appearances at the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe (2017), Royal Court Theatre, London (2017), St. Ann's Warehouse, New York City (2018), the Galway International Arts Festival, Ireland (2018).

Sources

https://www.ameeraconrad.com/the-fall

https://playscriptseries.blogspot.com/

https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Fall.html?id=xZK0zwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

https://weekendspecial.co.za/review-the-fall/

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2017-09-12-the-fall-strikes-an-international-chord

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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