Difference between revisions of "The Abbess"

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''The Abbess'' by [[Athol Fugard]]. Based on an episode in the Life of Hildegard of Bingen, a play about the abbess *** who wrote plays in the 14th century??**.  
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''[[The Abbess]]'' is a play by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-).  
  
Characters: The Abbess - Eighty-one years old. A complex and contradictory personality, alternating between the image of a frail old woman and a figure of tremendous power and authority, capable of both abject humility and high-born arrogance.
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== The play ==
Guibert - A monk, the Abbess’s secretary and confessor. Scholarly and precise. Mid-thirties.
 
Volmar - A memory. The Abbess’s former secretary, teacher and confidant, now deceased. Mid-seventies. Great depth of character and profundity. A beautiful human being. He has been dead for fifteen years.
 
Richardis - Also a memory. Young and beautiful. At one time the Abbess’s favourite. She has been dead about thirty years.
 
  
Written for *** and produced by ** in California in 2000. First published in the [[South African Theatre Journal]] 2005.
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Based on an episode in the Life of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a play about the nun, composer and author who was known as the 'Sybil of the Rhine'. The play focuses on an incident that occurred several months before her death in which Hildegard had been ordered to disinter and remove the body of a benefactor from the convent cemetery as he had been excommunicated from the church. It celebrates Hildegard's "heroic struggle and her personal triumph as an artist and a woman who shaped the politics of her time" (McDonald, 2006).
  
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The characters in the play include:
  
Return to [[ESAT Plays 1 A|A]]
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* The Abbess - Eighty-one years old. A complex and contradictory personality, alternating between the image of a frail old woman and a figure of tremendous power and authority, capable of both abject humility and high-born arrogance.
  
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Plays]]
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* Guibert - A monk, the Abbess’s secretary and confessor. Scholarly and precise. Mid-thirties.
 +
 
 +
* Volmar - A memory. The Abbess’s former secretary, teacher and confidant, now deceased. Mid-seventies. Great depth of character and profundity. A beautiful human being. He has been dead for fifteen years.
 +
 
 +
* Richardis - Also a memory. Young and beautiful. At one time the Abbess’s favourite. She has been dead about thirty years.
 +
 
 +
First published in the [[South African Theatre Journal]] 2006.
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== Performances ==
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== Sources ==
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Marianne McDonald. 2006. Preface to ''The Abbess''. ''South African Theatre Journal'', 20:1,334-338.
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Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
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== Return to ==
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Return to [[PLAYS I: Original SA plays]]
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Return to [[PLAYS II: Foreign plays]]
 +
 
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Return to [[PLAYS III: Collections]]
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Return to [[PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances]]
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Return to [[South_African_Festivals|South African Festivals and Competitions]]
 +
 
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Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
  
 
Return to [[Main Page]]
 
Return to [[Main Page]]

Latest revision as of 10:51, 27 September 2023

The Abbess is a play by Athol Fugard (1932-).

The play

Based on an episode in the Life of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a play about the nun, composer and author who was known as the 'Sybil of the Rhine'. The play focuses on an incident that occurred several months before her death in which Hildegard had been ordered to disinter and remove the body of a benefactor from the convent cemetery as he had been excommunicated from the church. It celebrates Hildegard's "heroic struggle and her personal triumph as an artist and a woman who shaped the politics of her time" (McDonald, 2006).

The characters in the play include:

  • The Abbess - Eighty-one years old. A complex and contradictory personality, alternating between the image of a frail old woman and a figure of tremendous power and authority, capable of both abject humility and high-born arrogance.
  • Guibert - A monk, the Abbess’s secretary and confessor. Scholarly and precise. Mid-thirties.
  • Volmar - A memory. The Abbess’s former secretary, teacher and confidant, now deceased. Mid-seventies. Great depth of character and profundity. A beautiful human being. He has been dead for fifteen years.
  • Richardis - Also a memory. Young and beautiful. At one time the Abbess’s favourite. She has been dead about thirty years.

First published in the South African Theatre Journal 2006.

Performances

Sources

Marianne McDonald. 2006. Preface to The Abbess. South African Theatre Journal, 20:1,334-338.

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