Von Morgens bis Mitternachts
Von Morgens bis Mitternachts I"From morning to midnight") is a German play by Georg Kaiser (1878–1945)[1].
Contents
The original text
An expressionist play written in 1912 that charts the life of a cashier who steals money from the bank and flees to Berlin. The un-named protagonist's bid to escape his middle-class daily life is ultimately frustrated. In the end, disillusioned and pursued by the police, he takes his own life.
It is a popular piece and is among the most frequently performed German Expressionist works.
Though the play was initially banned for reasons which were not entirely clear, it was eventually produced by the Austrian Max Reinhardt in 1917.
Translations and adaptations
Adapted as a 1920 German silent expressionist film, directed by Karlheinz Martin based on the 1912 play.[2]
It has been translated into English in a number of versions, usually called From Morn to Midnight or From Morning to Midnight.
Translated into Afrikaans as Van Dagbreek tot Middernag and adapted for radio by Lourens Fourie.
Performance history in South Africa
1962: Van Dagbreek tot Middernag broadcast in the programme Meesterdrama on the SABC's Afrikaans Service on 1 May, directed by Lourens Fourie.
Sources
https://www.amazon.com/Morning-Midnight-Oberon-Modern-Plays/dp/1783190132
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georg-Kaiser
Robert J. Cardullo. 2018. Georg Kaiser, Expressionism and From Morn to Midnight, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore Volume 17 No. 2 (April).[3]
The text of the typed SABC radio text of Van Dagbreek tot Middernag, found in the Stellenbosch Drama Department archives in 2022.
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