At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories

At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories is a book of short stories by Ronnie Govender (1935-2021)

Also the title of stage adaptation of the stories.

The original text

A collection of Govender's writings, stories that offers a series of narratives of life in Cato Manor from the 1940s until its destruction in 1958/9, giving a glimpse of everyday life in Indian/Zulu/colonial Natal and in the process raises larger questions about South African Indian identities—questions of alienation, exclusion, exoticism, and belonging. First published by Marx Publishers in 1996.

Published by Marx Publishers in the collection At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories in 1996.

Sources

At the Edge theatre programme, 1991.

National Arts Festival Programme, 1991, 36-37.

Translations and adaptations

The stories were adapted as a one-person stage piece entitled At the Edge (first performed 1993) and later also as At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories when performed by actress Jailoshini Naidoo (performed 2010).

Performance history in South Africa

1990: First performed as At the Edge by Charles Pillai at the Asoka Theatre, University of Durban-Westville and thereafter in Durban at the Cane Grower's Hall in March.

1990: Performed by Charles Pillai at the Baxter Studio, Cape Town, on 25 June

1991: Now featuring Pat Pillai, the piece went on a national tour and played at the Little Theatre, Cape Town 15 April and the Standard Bank National Arts Festival, Grahamstown.

1991: Performed Pat Pillai at the Edinburgh Festival

1997: Performed by Pat Pillai at the Natal Playhouse, with music composed by Siva Devar.

2010: At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories was performed by Jailoshini Naidoo, as part of the fourth edition of the Shared History - The Indian Experience Festival, presented by Teamwork Productions in association with The High Commission of India. Directed by [[Sharupa Dutta], with music by Siva Devar. It was presented at Playhouse Theatre, Durban from 8 September to 12 September (as part of the Celebrating Durban Festival), at The Market Theatre, Johannesburg, as part of the Jo'burg Arts Alive International Festival from 16 to 26 September.