Dirty Linen may refer to a play by Tom Stoppard, or to a short South African documentary film by Werner Grünbauer

Dirty Linen by Tom Stoppard

Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land[1] are a linked pair of plays by Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard (1937- )[2].

The two plays are always performed together, with New-Found-Land interrupting the two parts of Dirty Linen.

The original text

The pair of plays was first performed in 1976 for two months at the Almost Free Theatre [3] in London, after which it moved to the Arts Theatre [4] on the West End for the next four years.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1977: First produced in South Africa by Pieter Toerien, directed by Peter Bowles at the Johannesburg Civic and the Nico Malan Theatre, Cape Town. The Dirty Linen cast were: Moira Downie (Maddie), Sandy Robertson (Cocklebury-Smythe, M.P.), John Challis (McTeazle, M.P.), Ron Smerczak (Chamberlain, M.P.), Peter Bowles (Chairman Withenshaw, M.P.), Naomi Buch (Mrs Ebury, M.P.), Martin Aylott (French, M.P.) and Jack Payne (Home Secretary). The New-Found-Land cast were: Richard Warwick (Arthur) and Charles Hawtrey (Bernard).

Sources

Theatre programme held by NELM: [Collection: FARMER, Anthony]: 2007. 18. 13. 346 and [Collection: THEATRE PROGRAMMES]: 2012. 285. 1. 82.

Pieter Toerien theatre programme (undated).

Tucker, 1997.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Dirty Linen by Werner Grünbauer

This is a short (13min) video docu-drama made in 1965, directed by Werner Grünbauer South Africa 1965 video

Described as a humorous depiction of events on one particular day in Mamelodi, a township in Pretoria and shows the pulse of sport, work, social and family life – in a so-called township, set to pulsating pennywhistle music and kwela music.