Difference between revisions of "Putsonderwater"
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'''''Putsonderwater''''' ("''Well-without-Water''") is a 1961 play by [[Bartho Smit]]. | '''''Putsonderwater''''' ("''Well-without-Water''") is a 1961 play by [[Bartho Smit]]. | ||
| − | + | Published by [[Afrikaanse Pers-boekhandel]] in 1962. | |
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| + | In 1961 it was submitted as possible opening piece for the newly built [[Johannesburg Civic Theatre]], but was rejected. Denied performance in South Africa for many years, it was first performed to acclaim by ‘’[[Volksteater Vertikaal]]’’ in Ghent in 1968 and toured Belgium for a year. | ||
Directed at [[Rhodes University Theatre Complex|Rhodes University]] in 1968 by [[Abraham de Vries]], with [[Nelia Dryer]], [[Hugh Forsyth]], [[Wilfred Jonckheer]], [[John Badenhorst]], [[Tom Cloete]], [[Noël Roos]], [[Bill Sieberhagen]] in the cast. A production by [[Johan Mocke]] opened on 27 February 1969 at the [[Port Elizabeth Opera House]], then had a brief and little publicised workshop production for an invited audience by the [[PACOFS]] experimental theatre group in the [[Ou Presidensie Teater]] (“Old Presidency Theatre”), directed by [[Henk Hugo]], with [[Neels Coetzee]] and [[Rina la Grange]] in the cast. In 1970 a scheduled production by [[CAPAB]] was banned by the Administrator of the Cape Province (in his capacity as chairman of the board) a few days before the opening. | Directed at [[Rhodes University Theatre Complex|Rhodes University]] in 1968 by [[Abraham de Vries]], with [[Nelia Dryer]], [[Hugh Forsyth]], [[Wilfred Jonckheer]], [[John Badenhorst]], [[Tom Cloete]], [[Noël Roos]], [[Bill Sieberhagen]] in the cast. A production by [[Johan Mocke]] opened on 27 February 1969 at the [[Port Elizabeth Opera House]], then had a brief and little publicised workshop production for an invited audience by the [[PACOFS]] experimental theatre group in the [[Ou Presidensie Teater]] (“Old Presidency Theatre”), directed by [[Henk Hugo]], with [[Neels Coetzee]] and [[Rina la Grange]] in the cast. In 1970 a scheduled production by [[CAPAB]] was banned by the Administrator of the Cape Province (in his capacity as chairman of the board) a few days before the opening. | ||
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| + | == Subject == | ||
| + | Set in a small South African village, the characters are representatives of religious, secular and political power, and the playwright’s exploration of their relationship with the young virgin, constitutes a virulent attack on social hypocrisy. | ||
== The original text == | == The original text == | ||
Revision as of 07:49, 19 August 2015
Putsonderwater ("Well-without-Water") is a 1961 play by Bartho Smit.
Published by Afrikaanse Pers-boekhandel in 1962.
In 1961 it was submitted as possible opening piece for the newly built Johannesburg Civic Theatre, but was rejected. Denied performance in South Africa for many years, it was first performed to acclaim by ‘’Volksteater Vertikaal’’ in Ghent in 1968 and toured Belgium for a year.
Directed at Rhodes University in 1968 by Abraham de Vries, with Nelia Dryer, Hugh Forsyth, Wilfred Jonckheer, John Badenhorst, Tom Cloete, Noël Roos, Bill Sieberhagen in the cast. A production by Johan Mocke opened on 27 February 1969 at the Port Elizabeth Opera House, then had a brief and little publicised workshop production for an invited audience by the PACOFS experimental theatre group in the Ou Presidensie Teater (“Old Presidency Theatre”), directed by Henk Hugo, with Neels Coetzee and Rina la Grange in the cast. In 1970 a scheduled production by CAPAB was banned by the Administrator of the Cape Province (in his capacity as chairman of the board) a few days before the opening.
Eleven years later, in July 1981, the first fully professional production was done by PACT in the State Theatre Arena, Pretoria directed by Louis van Niekerk, starring Iza Trengove, Don Lamprecht, Louw Verwey, Franz Marx, Dan Welman, Sam Marais.
English translation by A. Dawes: Well-without-Water or The Virgin and the Vultures.
Om 24 March 1971 the play was presented in an English translation by Anthony Dawes as The Virgin and the Vultures by the amateur dramatic society of the Johannesburg College of Education under the direction of Joey de Koker.
Contents
Subject
Set in a small South African village, the characters are representatives of religious, secular and political power, and the playwright’s exploration of their relationship with the young virgin, constitutes a virulent attack on social hypocrisy.
The original text
Smit was inspired by the novella Sous le soleil de Satan ("Under the Sun of Satan") by French author Georges Bernanos [1]
Translations and adaptations
Performance history in South Africa
Sources
Grütter, Wilhelm, CAPAB 25 Years, 1987. Unpublished research. p 447.
Teater SA, 1(2), 1968
PACT pamphlet, July 1981
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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