Thespis
The name of the supposed founder of modern day theatre, is found BOTH as the name of a theatre and debating society in Paarl and as the pseudonym used by a Cape Town theatre critic
Contents
The original Thespis
Thespis (Θέσπις in the original Greek, fl. 6th century BC)[1] was a singer of dithyrambs and a playwright from Icaria who is reputed (notably by Aristotle) to have been the founder of theatre as we know it, when he introduced the first principal actor in addition to the chorus in his performances. Other sources argue that he was the one to introduce a new style in which one singer or actor performed the words of individual characters in the stories, distinguishing between the characters with the aid of different masks. What is documented is that Thespis was the winner in the first documented Dionysia (festival of tragedy) to be held in ancient Athens in 534 BC.[2].
Thespis has thus been used as the names of theatre companies, publications and critics over the subsequent centuries and the term thespian (for a performer or actor) also derives from his name.
Thespis: the theatre and debating society
The first Dutch language "Rederijkerskamer" or theatre and debating society in South Africa, established in the Paarl, was named Thespis, being mentioned for the first time in a poem by J. Suasso de Lima entitled "De Paarl en 'Thespis' Rederijkers", dated 6 July 1858.
[TH, JH]
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysia
Fletcher, 199*;
Du Toit, 1988
F.C.L. Bosman, 1980: pp.
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Thespis: The theatre critic
"Thespis" was taken as a pseudonym by a number of theatre critics, internationally and in South Africa, over the years.
South African instances include:
In the 1850s someone wrote under this name for The Monitor in the Cape Town (e.g ).
In the 1940s-1950s a critic for the Helikon wrote under this name. See for example the reviews of Much Ado about Nothing (Helikon 1(2):13-14) and Deep are the Roots (Helikon, 1(2):114-15).
Sources
F.C.L. Bosman, 1928: pp. 402-3;
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to South African Theatre Personalities
Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page
