David Kramer

David Kramer (1951-) is a bilingual singer, musician, composer, playwright and director.

BEING EDITED

Biography

Born in Worcester in 1951, he learnt to play the guitar and wrote music at an early age, playing in a band called The Creeps during his schooldays. Kramer matriculated at Worcester Boys High School.

Originally trained as a textile designer at Leeds University where he graduated with an Honours degree (1971-74), but discovered a need to write songs expressing and interpreting the South African reality.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

David Kramer has made a significant contribution to the arts in South Africa - as singer/songwriter, playwright/composer, and theatre and music producer.

Primarily known for his tranformation of South African music, and the enhancement of non-standard Cape Afrikaans (or "Kaaps") as a musical vehicle.

As singer/songwriter

He began his music career as a singer/songwriter, performing at folk clubs and campus concerts across South Africa in the mid 1970’s, singing satrirical songs. He began writing and singing songs based on a mix of rock, Afrikaans folk songs and township music, despite his revulsion of the Nationalist regime. His recordings, combined with his popular public appearances and the immensely entertaining series of Volkswagen Minibus adverts starring Kramer made him a household name and face in the 1980s.

His first album BAKGAT! was immediately banned in its entirety by the SABC because of its political satire, the use of coarse language and the mixing of languages. Kramer pioneered the use of Cape Afrikaans and South African English in his lyrics, sometimes switching between the languages in the same song. He focussed on small town South Africa and employed a gritty realism and dark satire to tell his stories and describe his characters.

His albums include:

1980 BAKGAT! (Gold) (banned by the SABC in 1981)

1981 THE STORY OF BLOKKIES JOUBERT (Triple Gold, Platinum)

1982 DELICIOUS MONSTER (Gold)

1983 HANEPOOTPAD (Double Gold)

1984 JISJISJIS (recorded live) (Double Gold)

1984 KWAAI

1986 BABOONDOGS

1986 LAAT VIR DIE DANS (Afrikaans Hits)

1986 DISTRICT SIX - THE MUSICAL (Gold)

1988 CAPE TOWN (with Taliep Petersen)

1989 EINA

1991 FAIRYLAND

1995 KAT AND THE KINGS (International Release)

1996 KLASSIC KRAMER

1997 ALLES VANNIE BESTE (Gold)

1999 KLIPHARD

2001 IN THE DAYS OF DISTRICT SIX

2002 KAROO KITAAR BLUES

2004 HUISTOE

2007 HEMEL & AARDE

2017 WAKKERSLAAP

Other purely musical performances include The Jol and Hemel en aarde ("heaven and earth") (2009). While working with Barney Simon on his show The Jol at the Market Theatre, Kramer became interested in theatrical work.

The Dock Rd Theatre

From 1990-1996, Kramer and his wife Renaye Kramer ran The Dock Road Theatre in the Cape Town’s waterfront development. He and Renaye went on to form a production company David Kramer Productions.

Musicals by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen

Together with Taliep Petersen, David Kramer created the musical District Six – The Musical which ran at the Baxter Theatre for six months in 1987 before moving to the Market Theatre in February 1988. Together with Taliep Petersen he created Poison which was staged at the Nico Malan Theatre in 1992. At the same time their Fairyland was staged at the Dock Road Theatre and Crooners was staged at the City Lights Theatre. (Tucker, 1997)

Kramer did his first productions**? under the label Blik Productions and for ** years

• District Six - The Musical (1987)

• Fairyland (1990)

• Crooners (1992)

• Poison (1992, 1994, 2000)

• Kat and the Kings (1995)

• Klop Klop (1996)

• Ghoema (2005)

• Ghoema - Spice Drum Beat (2006)

Musicals written by David Kramer

In 2001 also co-wrote Die Ballade van Koos Sas (with Jody Abrahams and Gaerin Hauptfleisch) with his regular musicians Gammie Lackay and Howard Linksand put together the haunting musical project Karoo Kitaar Blues, with untutored musicians Hannes Coetzee and Tokos Lodewyk from farms and towns (2001-2003).

• The Eyes of their Whites (1990, a review with Paul Slabolepszy)
• Die Ballade van Koos Sas (2001, with Jody Abrahams and Gaerin Hauptfleisch)
• The Kramer Petersen Songbook (2007)
• Some Like It Vrot (2011)
• Blood Brothers (2013, adaptation of Willy Russell's musical)
• Orpheus in Africa (2015)
• District Six - Kanala (2016)
• Langarm (2018)

As director

Theatre productions directed by David Kramer include:

• From the Cape Flats with Love (Marc Lottering) (2000)
• Big Stakes and Slap Chips (Marc Lottering) (2001)
• Hallalujah (Marc Lottering)
• Three Wise Men (Lottering, Rabinowitz, Moosa)
• Three Wiser Men (2008-2009, Lottering, Rabinowitz, Moosa)
• Krismis van Map Jacobs (Adam Small)
• Radio Classics (Izobell, Ford)
• Blood Brothers (2013)
• Orpheus in Africa (2015-2016)
• Amper Famous (Vito Heyn, Kramer)
• District Six - Kanala
• Afrique Mon Desir (Laurinda Hofmeyr)
• Platteland
• Langarm (2018)

Filmed recordings of Kramer's work

• Karoo Kitaar Blues (2004)
• District Six - The Musical (2007)
• The Kramer Petersen Songbook (2008)
• Ghoema (2009)
• Karoo Kitaar Blues - Live in Concert (2010)

Awards, etc

Winner of numerous awards over the years for his music as well as his theatre work. This includes the Fleur du Cap Award for Best Contribution to a Musical or Revue for Kat and the Kings (1999) and the revival of District Six (2002), and a Laurence Olivier Award as Best New Musical in 1999 for Kat and the Kings, all of which he shared with Taliep Petersen.

Sources

Pretoria News, 18 April 2001.

"Twee manne steel die kollig" , Rapport Tydskrif, 20 September, 2009: p. 8.

Die Beeld, Die Kunste Oktober/November 2018.

Official website, https://www.davidkramer.co.za/history.html

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