In die Wagkamer

In die Wagkamer ("In the waiting room") is an Afrikaans one-act play by J.F.W. Grosskopf (1885–1948).

The original text

Subtitled 'n noodlotstuk ("a play about fate"), it is a celebrated Afrikaans one-act play about the lives of five unnamed people waiting in a suburban train station in Johannesburg.

It was first produced in 1936?, and thereafter used by many other societies and schools.

The text was first published in the collection Drie Een-bedrywe vir een Aand by Nasionale Pers in 1926, reprinted four times between then and 1937.

Translations and adaptations

The play was filmed as Moedertjie ("Little Mother") for African Film Productions by the producer Joseph Albrecht and directed by Stephanie Fauré in 1931. The film starred Faure herself as the mother, Jean Plaat-Stuljes as the "Oom", Pierre de Wet as the boy and Joan du Toit as the girl.

Performance history in South Africa

1936: Performed in the Pretorius Hall, Pretoria on 10-11 June by Ons Teatertjie-toneelgroep, directed by Leonie Pienaar.

1937: Performed in Cape Town on 10-11 June by K.A.T., as part of a programme that also included Die Papiermes (J.A. Wilson's The Paper Knife) and Oorlog is Oorlog (Grosskopff).