Fred Engelen

Fred Engelen (1912-1967). Actor, director, academic.

Biography

Born in Antwerp on 20 December 1912, he studied at the Koninklijke Konservatorium in Antwerp where he received the Diploma in Theatre Art cum laude in 1937. He became involved with the municipal theatre in Antwerp, and in 1955 was in charge of the studio for young actors at the Royal Flemish Theatre in Antwerp.

He was married to Belgian actress and costumier Tine Balder, and the couple had three children, Jan, Bie and Katrijn.

He died on 3 December 1967 in Stuttgart, Germany.

Work in Belgium

Besides teaching, acting and directing for the various theatres, he did work for radio and film.

Some of the Belgian films listed include A Nice Case (1941), Le banquet des fraudeurs (1952[1]), De rozen van Henry Tayer (1959 [2]), Sterfgeval in de familie (1960) and Goeie morgen, Bill (1961).

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

In 1955 Engelen was offered work in South Africa as a guest director for the School of Speech and Drama at the University of Cape Town, where he directed Georges Bernanos's Dialogues of the Carmelites with the students (in Donald Inskip's translation titled The Chosen of God).

He also did Max Frisch's Andorra (195*) and a professional production for NTO of Die Koopman van Venesië (1955) and The Trial by Franz Kafka (1960).

and returned later to work for National Theatre Organisation  (NTO).     In Stellenbosch Tine worked as actress, lecturer and costumier for the same department.

I

In 1961 he was approached to become the first head of the newly established drama department the University of Stellenbosch, a position he held till his unexpected death in 1967, while on a sabbatical leave in the USA and Europe.In 1961 Engelen was invited back to South Africa to become the first professor and head of the Drama Department at the University of Stellenbosch. He held this position until his unexpected death in 1967. In this period he also initiated and oversaw the construction of the H.B. Thom Theatre in Stellenbosch and did numerous productions with the students as well as professional companies.

Sadly and unexpectedly he died during a visit to Stuttgart, while on sabbatical leave in the USA and Europe during 1967. He was apparently slated to direct his own Flemish adaptation of Bartho Smit's Putzonderwater for Belgian television and was meant to arrive in Belgium on 3 December 1967, after his visit to Germany, but underwent surgery for appendicitis in Stuttgart and died there from post operative complications in December 1967. While going through documents she left, I came across the type written adaptation of Putsonderwater which Fred Engelen had prepared for Belgium. He had been expected to direct the play but his death on 3 December 1967 caused the project to be canceled at this time.

Over the course of his period at Stellenbosch he both produced and acted in many plays for the Department, including Caesar(1965), Macbeth (1967).

While teaching at Stellenbosch University, he also directed plays for NTO and the Performaing Arts Councils on occasion. Among these were: Besoek van die Ou Dame (NTO, 1962; directed and played Philip II in Don Carlos, 1966, for PACOFS.

He also translated and adapted a number of plays while in South Africa, including Once More (a medieval farce),

[FdV, TH]

Sources

Obituary in Die Burger, 5 December 1967.

Donald Inskip 1972. Forty Little Years: The Story of a Theatre. Cape Town: Howard Timmins.

Percy Tucker 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.

E-mail correspondence from Bie Engelen (15 March, 2021)

E-mail correspondence from Pieter Fourie (12 February, 2021)

E-mail correspondence from Franz Marx (13 February, 2021)

Typed copy of the translation of Once More, found in the archives of the Drama Department of Stellenbosch University.

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