Bloemfonteinse Teatergroep

("Bloemfontein Theatre Group" , sometimes simply referred to as Die Teatergroep i.e. "the theatre group"): An Afrikaans society founded in Bloemfontein on September 13 1946. This happened after Anna Neethling-Pohl had visited the city and had told of the good work being done by Volksteater in Pretoria. The founding committee was led by the city’s publicity officer, J.C. Pauw, and consisted A.M. Burgers, Anna Richter-Visser, Gerrit Viljoen, Susie Mey Viljoen, Felix Lategan, Justa Kriel, F. Retief, and dr. G.J. (Hans) Trümpelmann (who was also the first chairman of the group, with Retief as secretary) Many of these were to remain prominent members of the Teatergroep over the years. The group's first production was Die Kersspel by W.E.G. Louw[N.P. van Wyk Louw??*] in December 1946 in the Grand Theatre. When Grand's building became unsafe, various other venues were used before enough money was collected to erect the Bloemfontein Civic Theatre in 1959. Among their most notable productions over the years were **, **, and **. By the late 1990s the group was still active, striving to promote amateur theatre in Free State appearing in the Bloemfontein Civic Theatre , the Observatory Theatre and various restaurants. [Anton Welman]