Die Plaasvervangers

Die Plaasvervangers ("The Substitutes") is a political play by Pieter Fourie (1940-2021).

Not to be confused with the Afrikaans thriller Die Plaasvervangers (1975) by I.D. Lamprecht.

The original text

Die Plaasvervangers, like Fourie's Die Joiner of 1976, is a political play about the roots and future of the Afrikaner, using much of the same mix of realism and symbolis. The text contained inflammatory scenes depicting such contentious matters as miscegenation, homosexuality, and the like. Written as a commissioned work for the Oude Libertas Foundation in 1977, the text was published by Perskor in 1978, and the play was first performed in December of the same year by CAPAB. The play received some good reviews, especially for the text, though not all critics were equally enthusiastic about it. The production was not well attended however, according to Luwes (2012: 224-5). Because of the critical content, the first production also led to a warning from the then Administrator of the Cape Province (and ex-officio Chairman of the CAPAB board), Dr Lapa Munnik, that the Cape Performing Arts Board would lose its subsidy if it continued doing such plays. As a result all further planned performances were banned after an initial run of 19 performances. This led to a furore in the press and an increasing and widely expressed dissatisfaction with and rebellion against censorship among artists of all kinds.

Translations and adaptations

Performance history in South Africa

1978: First performed by CAPAB in the Nico Malan Theatre, opening in December of that year. Directed by Pieter Fourie, with Anna Neethling-Pohl as "Die Kampmoeder", Anna Cloete, Pieter Bredenkamp, Pieter Geldenhuys, Christo Pienaar, Willem de la Querra, Mees Xteen, Johan Botha, Marko van der Colff, Paul Slabolepszy, André Rossouw, Lida Meiring, Tom Holms, Brümilda van Rensburg, Mark Banks, Elizabeth Archer.

2010: Performed by students of the University of the Free State Drama Department directed by Stephanie Brink at the Wynand Mouton Theatre opening 23 March 2010.

Sources

Die Transvaler, 7 October 1978.

Rand Daily Mail, 23 January 1979.

Volksblad, 22 March 2010.

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 Unpublished doctoral dissertation.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. 211-235 [1]

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