Difference between revisions of "Ellen Pakkies"

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A number of documentary and dramatic works have been written about the real-life character [[Ellen Pakkies]]
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Ellen Pakkies
  
=Ellen Pakkies the character=
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Ellen Pakkies is the real-life subject of a number of documentary and dramatic works of South African television, theatre and film — a [[Cape Flats]] mother whose killing of her drug-addicted son in 2007 became a widely publicised court case and the basis for a television documentary, a stage play and a feature film.
  
A seemingly ordinary woman living in a notoriously violent area named Lavender Hill, on the Cape Flats, in the vicinity of Cape Town, she murdered her beloved son Adam, or 'Abie' as she called him, who was an abusive crystal metaphetatimine (tik) addict.
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== The Ellen Pakkies Case ==
  
The story created an international stir in 2007 and 2008 and continued to do so for years afterwards. As well as two international doctorates written about her, there have been a documentary film, a stage play and a feature film
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An ordinary woman living in the notoriously violent area of [[Lavender Hill]] on the [[Cape Flats]], [[Cape Town]], [[Ellen Pakkies]] came to public attention when she murdered her son Adam ("Abie"), on 12 September 2007, after he had become an increasingly abusive crystal methamphetamine (tik) addict.
  
=The documentary=
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The story created an international stir in 2007 and 2008 and continued to do so for years afterwards. At her trial the court took into account the extent to which the social system had failed her, and she received a three-year prison sentence that was wholly suspended for three years, together with 280 hours of community service. The case was widely regarded as a landmark, drawing attention to the social conditions and systemic failures on the [[Cape Flats]], and has since been the subject of two international doctorates as well as a documentary film, a stage play and a feature film.
  
Shown on The Crime Investigation Network, the documentary won the filmmaker, [[Michael Duffet]], a [[South African Journalism Award]].
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== Works about Ellen Pakkies ==
  
=''[[My Naam/My Name is Ellen Pakkies]]'' - the bilingual play (2011-2012)=
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''[[The Ellen Pakkies Story]]'' (2010): a television documentary by the filmmaker [[Michael Duffett]] that brought the case to a wide television audience.
[[My Naam/My Name is Ellen Pakkies]] a bilingual (English/[[Afrikaans]]) play by [[Liz Meiring]] ().
 
  
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''[[My Naam/My Name is Ellen Pakkies]]'' (2011): a bilingual (English/[[Afrikaans]]) stage play written and directed by [[Lizz Meiring]], written after she saw Duffett's documentary.
  
==The original text==
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''[[Ellen: Die Ellen Pakkies Storie]]'' (2018): an [[Afrikaans]] feature film directed by [[Daryne Joshua]], with a screenplay by [[Amy Jephta]].
  
==Translations and adaptations==
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== Sources ==
  
== Performance history in South Africa ==
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen:_The_Ellen_Pakkies_Story
  
2011: Performed at Klein Karoo National Arts Festival from 4 to 8 April, then to the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio from 13 April to 7 May, the Cederberg Arts Festival on 1 May and [[Aardklop]] Festival in 2011, directed by Lizz Meiring with [[Vinette Ebrahim]] and [[Christo Davids]].
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See also the individual entries on ''[[The Ellen Pakkies Story]]'', ''[[My Naam/My Name is Ellen Pakkies]]'' and ''[[Ellen: Die Ellen Pakkies Storie]]'' for further sources.
 
 
2012: Performed at the [[Joburg Promusica Theatre]] on 4 and 5 May.
 
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=''[[Ellen: Die Ellen Pakkies Stories]]'' - the film (2018)=
 
=Sources=
 
 
 
 
 
https://www.mediaupdate.co.za/media/46510/promusica-to-stage-my-naammy-name-is-ellen-pakkies
 
 
 
==Sources==
 
 
 
[[Beeld]], 26 September 2011.
 
  
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
  
= Return to =
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== Return to ==
  
Return to [[PLAYS I: Original SA plays]]
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Return to [[South_African_Festivals|South African Festivals and Competitions]]
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Return to [[Main Page]]
 
 
Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
 

Latest revision as of 19:25, 1 July 2026

Ellen Pakkies

Ellen Pakkies is the real-life subject of a number of documentary and dramatic works of South African television, theatre and film — a Cape Flats mother whose killing of her drug-addicted son in 2007 became a widely publicised court case and the basis for a television documentary, a stage play and a feature film.

The Ellen Pakkies Case

An ordinary woman living in the notoriously violent area of Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats, Cape Town, Ellen Pakkies came to public attention when she murdered her son Adam ("Abie"), on 12 September 2007, after he had become an increasingly abusive crystal methamphetamine (tik) addict.

The story created an international stir in 2007 and 2008 and continued to do so for years afterwards. At her trial the court took into account the extent to which the social system had failed her, and she received a three-year prison sentence that was wholly suspended for three years, together with 280 hours of community service. The case was widely regarded as a landmark, drawing attention to the social conditions and systemic failures on the Cape Flats, and has since been the subject of two international doctorates as well as a documentary film, a stage play and a feature film.

Works about Ellen Pakkies

The Ellen Pakkies Story (2010): a television documentary by the filmmaker Michael Duffett that brought the case to a wide television audience.

My Naam/My Name is Ellen Pakkies (2011): a bilingual (English/Afrikaans) stage play written and directed by Lizz Meiring, written after she saw Duffett's documentary.

Ellen: Die Ellen Pakkies Storie (2018): an Afrikaans feature film directed by Daryne Joshua, with a screenplay by Amy Jephta.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen:_The_Ellen_Pakkies_Story

See also the individual entries on The Ellen Pakkies Story, My Naam/My Name is Ellen Pakkies and Ellen: Die Ellen Pakkies Storie for further sources.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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Return to The ESAT Entries

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