Boetman is die Bliksem in!
Boetman is die Bliksem in! ("[this] lad is the hell in!") is an Afrikaans play by Pieter Fourie (2000).
Contents
The original text
The play is based on a letter to the press written by SABC journalist Chris Louw in reaction to the book Afrikaners: kroes, kras, kordaat by Willem de Kerk, including the resulting reaction to Louw's letter. In an attack on the power-hungry ooms ("uncles") of Apartheid, the Broederbond and the Angolan Border War, who were accused of misleading a younger generation of Afrikaner males into fighting and dying for a despicable cause. Louw’s original letter, his eponymously named book on the subject, transcripts of radio and TV interviews, newspaper articles and other documentation of the debate were all used as the basis of the stage play.
The first performances in September 2000 was sold out three weeks in advance and received standing ovations at every performance, while those at the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival in April 2001 were even traded on the black market.
The documentary play is based on the most heated debate ever in the Afrikaans Press. Sparked by SABC journalist Chris Louw's open letter to Dr Willem de Klerk, former newspaper editor and brother of FW de Klerk, it deals in no uncertain terms with the power-hungry "ooms" of Apartheid, the Broederbond and the Angolan Border War.
Translations and adaptations
Performance history in South Africa
2000: Performed at the Aardklop National Arts Festival, directed by Marthinus Basson and later staged at the KKNK and Grahamstown Festival and in mainstream theatres.
Translations and adaptations
Sources
Nico Luwes 2010. Pieter Fourie (1940-) se bydrae as Afrikaanse dramaturg en kunsbestuurder: 1965-2010. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Bloemfontein: University of the Free State, pp. [1]
Johann van Heerden. 2008. Theatre in a New Democracy. Some major trends in South African theatre from 1994 to 2003, Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Stellenbosch[2]. p. 114
Boetman is die bliksem in. Press Release by the Baxter Theatre Centre, 05/17/2001, Artslink.co.za News[3]
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