Drie Susters Twee
Drie Susters Twee ("Three Sisters Two") is an original full length Afrikaans play by Reza de Wet (1952–2012).
Contents
The original text
Written as a sequel to Anton Chekhov's[1] Russian play Three Sisters, it is set nineteen years later, on the eve of the family's final, imminent removal to Moscow. The action occurs just after the end of the Russian Revolution, so the play offers a vision of the confusions and the collapse of value systems which occur at times of revolution.
In writing this work, De Wet also brings in elements from other Chekhov plays, e.g. Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard.
Published by Human and Rousseau in 1996.
De Wet won a rare second, consecutive, Hertzog Prize for Afrikaans Literature for this text.
Translations and adaptations
Translated by De Wet herself as Three Sisters Two and published by Oberon Books in De Wet: A Russian Trilogy (2001), along with Yelena and On the Lake, a volume that brings together three pieces which take as their inspiration the life and work of Anton Chekhov.
Performance history in South Africa
1997: First performed by Artscape, directed and designed by Marthinus Basson and featuring Aletta Bezuidenhout, Grethe Fox, Wilna Snyman, Mary Dreyer , **, and Neels Coetzee. Winner of a number of awards, including Fleur du Cap Best Actress Award for Bezuidenhout, Fleur du Cap Best Director Award and Fleur du Cap Award for Best New Indigenous Script.
1997: Staged in the Wynand Mouton Theatre in Bloemfontein in April 1997, directed by Nico Luwes, with Stephanie Brink, Karin van der Vyver, Dorothy Dickens, Anton Welman, Welma de Beer, Izanne Bezuidenhout, Hercules Nel, Pieter Swann, Suzie Joubert.
1998: Performed in the State Theatre, opening on 15 August and directed by Marthinus Basson, with Antoinette Kellermann, Grethe Fox, Johan Malherbe, Siobhan Hodgson, Karin van der Laag, Neels Coetzee, André Stoltz, Alida Theron, Rita Ehlers.
2002: Performed in English at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, February 2002.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_de_Wet
Temple Hauptfleisch. 1993. "Die Dramaturg as Towernaar" in Trits: Mis, Mirakel en Drif. Pretoria: HAUM Literêr, 1993.
KKNK programme 1997 p 54
Citizen, 5 September 1998.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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