Difference between revisions of "Sorrows and Rejoicings"

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by [[Athol Fugard]]. A play about a white exiled poet who returns to the Karoo to die, and his relationship with the land and the three women in his life. His first play written in its entirety outside of South Africa, it shows the profound longing of a man for the land of his birth and his mother tongue. Written and first performed in May 2001 in the [[McCarter Theatre]], Princeton USA. Directed by Athol Fugard,  with [[John Glover]], [[Blair Brown]], [[Scotty Caldwell]] and [[Marcy Harriell]]. The New York production (at the Second Stage, January 2002) had John Glover, Marcy Harriell, [[Charlayne Woodard]] and [[Judith Light]].  First South African production at the [[Baxter Theatre]], Cape Town August 2001. Directed by Fugard and [[Susan Hilferty]], with [[Marius Weyers]], [[Denise Newman]], [[Jennifer Steyn]] and [[Amrain Ishmael-Essop]]. Lighting design by [[Mannie Manim]]. It also played in London at the Tricycle (March 2002) with the South African cast, and in April-June at the [[Mark Taper Forum]] in Los Angeles with a change in cast. First published by Theatre Communications Group, New York in 2002. Published by Witwatersrand University Press, 2002.  
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A play by [[Athol Fugard]] (2001). First published by Theatre Communications Group, New York in 2002. Published by Witwatersrand University Press in 2002.  
  
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== Performance history ==
 +
First performed in May 2001 in the [[McCarter Theatre]], Princeton USA, directed by Athol Fugard,  with [[John Glover]], [[Blair Brown]], [[Scotty Caldwell]] and [[Marcy Harriell]]. The New York production (at the Second Stage, January 2002) had John Glover, Marcy Harriell, [[Charlayne Woodard]] and [[Judith Light]]. It also played in London at the Tricycle (March 2002) with the South African cast, and in April-June at the [[Mark Taper Forum]] in Los Angeles with a change in cast. 
  
Return to [[ESAT Plays 1 S|S]]
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== Performance history in South Africa ==
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First South African production at the [[Baxter Theatre]], Cape Town August 2001. Directed by Fugard and [[Susan Hilferty]], with [[Marius Weyers]], [[Denise Newman]], [[Jennifer Steyn]] and [[Amrain Ishmael-Essop]]. Lighting design by [[Mannie Manim]].
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Plays|South African Theatre Plays]]
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== Subject ==
 +
A play about a white exiled poet who returns to the Karoo to die, and his relationship with the land and the three women in his life. His first play written in its entirety outside of South Africa, it shows the profound longing of a man for the land of his birth and his mother tongue.
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The central character is an Afrikaner poet who rejected apartheid South Africa and went into exile in the 1980s. Now, sixteen years later, he returns to die in his Karoo home town and the action takes place after his funeral with the three women in his life talking about the past, the present and the future – the dead poet appears in flashbacks. The women are his Johannesburg-born English-speaking wife, the coloured servant who was also his mistress and mother of his child, and the daughter, who stands for South Africa’s disaffected younger generation. In their dialogue and through the flashbacks they explore the past and try to understand the present. [Van Heerden (2008)][http://www.google.co.za/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.sun.ac.za%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10019.1%2F1443%2Fvanheerden_theatre_2008.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1&ei=_egBU77CNYWJhQeE5oCADQ&usg=AFQjCNEWnD1BzeLnFmOV2tvyGLoMyNeT6Q&bvm=bv.61535280,d.Yms]. p. 118.
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==Translations and adaptations==
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== Sources ==
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Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography|ESAT Bibliography]]
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Revision as of 12:48, 25 February 2014

A play by Athol Fugard (2001). First published by Theatre Communications Group, New York in 2002. Published by Witwatersrand University Press in 2002.

Performance history

First performed in May 2001 in the McCarter Theatre, Princeton USA, directed by Athol Fugard, with John Glover, Blair Brown, Scotty Caldwell and Marcy Harriell. The New York production (at the Second Stage, January 2002) had John Glover, Marcy Harriell, Charlayne Woodard and Judith Light. It also played in London at the Tricycle (March 2002) with the South African cast, and in April-June at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles with a change in cast.

Performance history in South Africa

First South African production at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town August 2001. Directed by Fugard and Susan Hilferty, with Marius Weyers, Denise Newman, Jennifer Steyn and Amrain Ishmael-Essop. Lighting design by Mannie Manim.

Subject

A play about a white exiled poet who returns to the Karoo to die, and his relationship with the land and the three women in his life. His first play written in its entirety outside of South Africa, it shows the profound longing of a man for the land of his birth and his mother tongue.

The central character is an Afrikaner poet who rejected apartheid South Africa and went into exile in the 1980s. Now, sixteen years later, he returns to die in his Karoo home town and the action takes place after his funeral with the three women in his life talking about the past, the present and the future – the dead poet appears in flashbacks. The women are his Johannesburg-born English-speaking wife, the coloured servant who was also his mistress and mother of his child, and the daughter, who stands for South Africa’s disaffected younger generation. In their dialogue and through the flashbacks they explore the past and try to understand the present. [Van Heerden (2008)][1]. p. 118.


Translations and adaptations

Sources

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to ESAT Templates

Return to B in Plays I Original SA Plays

Return to B in Plays II Foreign Plays

Return to B in Plays III Collections

Return to B in Plays IV: Festivals and Pageants

Return to South_African_Theatre/Plays

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page