Der Wirrwarr, oder der Muthwillige

Der Wirrwarr, oder der Muthwillige ("The confusion, or the headstrong person") is a farce in 4 or 5 acts by August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (1761-1819)[1].

Original text

First performed and published in 1803.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Dutch as De Verwarring ("The confusion") by Jan Steven van Esveldt Holtrop. Published in Amsterdam by W. Holtrop, 1803.

Bosman (1928, p. 79) suggests that it may have been translated into Dutch and adapted as a one-act tragedy, as De Moetwillige Jongen by an anonymous author as early as 1802, though there is some doubt about this, since this is a year before the play's original German publication - unless this was a pirated version.

The other, far more convincing, alternative is that De Moetwillige Jongen is an original Dutch play, a version of the one-act comic-morality De Gramschap, of Moetwillige Boots-gesel, by Ogier .

(See De Moetwillige Jongen)

Performance history in South Africa

1802: 17 July and 24 July 1802 De Moetwillige Jongen was performed in the African Theatre, Cape Town by Het Hoogduitsche Toneel-Gezelschap (also called the Liefhebbers van het Toneel en het Muziekgezelschap), along with Der Wildfang (Kotzebue).

1809: Performed in Dutch as De Verwarring by Tot Nut en Vermaak on 10 June 1809 in the African Theatre, as afterpiece to De Kluizenaar op Formentera (Von Kotzebue) .

1826: De Moetwillige Jongen performed in Dutch in Cape Town by the children's company Tot Oefening en Smaak on 8 April, 1826, probably directed by Joseph Suasso de Lima.

1827: Performed in Dutch as De Verwarring by Tot Nut en Vermaak on 21 April in the African Theatre, as afterpiece to De Moeder des Huisgezins, of Is er Geen Orde voor Edele Huisvrouwen? (Von Kotzebue).

1843: Performed in Dutch as De Verwarring by Tot Nut en Vermaak on 8 August with Het Verloren Kind (Von Kotzebue).