Bar and Ger

Bar and Ger is a two-hander by Geraldine Aron.

The original text

A hugely popular performance piece for young actors, this ode to Aron's brother, who had died in a motorcycle accident, was originally written as a poem, but was reworked for the stage and is usually performed as a two-hander.

First adapted and performed at The Space (Cape Town) with Wilson Dunster and Yvonne Bryceland, under the direction of Walter Donahue, 1975. This was followed by performances at The Druid Theatre, Ireland; the Royal National Theatre (Cottesloe) London; the King's Head, Pentameters; The Lyric Studio, Edinburgh Festival, etc.

Also adapted as a short film by the author, directed by (Ashley Lazarus, 197*) and as a radio play (broadcast by BBC Radio).

The stage text was first published in Modern Stage Directions (ed. Stephen Gray and D. Schalkwyk, pub. Maskew Miller, 1984), and subsequently in Seven Plays and Four Monologues, (pub. David Philip, 1985) and Play Spectrum (ed. H. Houghton-Hawksley, pub. David Philip, 1986). Many times reprinted in a variety of other collections since.

The play received numerous awards, including the RAPS Best Play; Transvaal Drama Festival, Best Play; and The Eileen Harper Memorial Trophy. Internationally it was voted an Edinburgh Fringe First and appeared in Variety Magazine's Edinburgh's "Best Ten", and won the Salter's Cup in the UK, and the Kentucky State Thespian Award in the USA.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Afrikaans as Bar en Ger twice, by Danie Botha and by Marielle Labuschagne respectively .

Performance history in South Africa

1975: First adapted and performed at The Space (Cape Town) with Wilson Dunster and Yvonne Bryceland, under the direction of Walter Donahue, with a second run in 1977.

1977: Performed as part of a Triple Bill with Mr McConkey's Suitcase and The Shrinking of Alby Chapman in the Baxter Theatre Studio in 1977. Directed by Glynn Day.

1993: National Arts Festival fringe, directed by Riaan Vosloo and J.B. van Eeden starring Van Eeden and Ilze de Klerk.

A Beta Production Company production was directed by Yvonne Copley, at the Nico Malan Theatre, date unknown.

[TH, JH].