Enrico IV
by Luigi Pirandello. An expressionist work providing a stark and moving study of madness and the solitude of self-imprisonment, a study on madness with comic and tragic sides. In the play the main character is a man who believes himself to be Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, and all about him conspire to maintain the fiction.
Written in 1921, it premiered on 24 February 1922 in the Teatro Manzoni in Milan. Published in Italian in 1922.
It has been translated into English by Tom Stoppard and others. Sometimes titled Henry IV and also written Henri IV, possibly to avoid confusion with Shakespeare's plays.
Performance history in South Africa
Presented at the Little Theatre Cape Town in 1935 as a significant milestone in that theatre's development. The cast included the impressive newcomer Wensley Pithey. **
A CAPAB production of the English version, with Michael Atkinson in the title role, toured the country in 196*. (CHECK!!)
Die Keiser, the Afrikaans translation by Johann van Heerden, was performed by the Stellenbosch University Drama Department for the Universiteitsteater Stellenbosch in May 1983 in the H.B. Thom Theatre, directed by Johann van Heerden. The cast: Chris Truter (Hendrik IV), Belinda Richardson (Markiesin Matilda Spina), Nicola van der Walt (Frida), André Schwartz (Markies di Nolli), Albert Maritz (Dr Genoni), Neels Engelbrecht (Baron Tito Belcredi), Isadora Verwey (Lola), Libé Ferreira (Franca), Trudi Huskisson (Mimi), Cecile de Jager (Fina), Antoinette Pienaar (Fina), Lloyd Davies (Giovanni), Christo Crous (lakei), Freddie Aylward (lakei). Decor designed by Marjorie van Heerden, costumes designed by Elaine Aucamp.
Translations and adaptations
Translated into Afrikaans, under the title of Die Keiser, from the original Italian, by Johann van Heerden, after a period of study and research in Italy during 1975.
Sources
UTS Theatre Programme of Die Keiser, 25 May to 1 July 1983.
Curriculum Vitae of Johann van Heerden (2011)
Correspondence with Johann van Heerden (11 Feb 2012)
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