Aurora

Aurora as name

Name, deriving from the Latin term for "dawn" and referring to the goddess of the dawn in Roman mythology, was used by two or three amateur theatre organizations in the Cape in the 19th century. Probably intended to reflect the cultural aspirations of the emerging South African Dutch and Afrikaans culture at the time.

Theatrical companies named Aurora

There have been three such companies in South Africa, two of them were Dutch Rederijkerskamers (oratory-clubs), which also interested themselves in theatre. In later years writers (e.g. F.C.L. Bosman) distinguished between them by naming them Aurora I, Aurora II and Aurora III.

Aurora I, Paarl (1862-?)

A Dutch-language amateur theatrical society called Aurora was founded in Paarl by members of "Die Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners", and was intended to help establish and promote the Dutch language and culture in the face of the Anglicisation policies of the British government.

Among its members were S.J. du Toit, D.F du Toit ("Oom Lokomotief"), ***.

The association performed the Dutch plays Rocco by A. Wijnstok and Schijn Bedriegt ("appearances deceive") by "Neef Paul", along with recitals of lyric poetry, as its first production in August 1862.

During its existence it incidentally also produced some of the earliest Afrikaans playtexts, notably the first, a translation of De Jonge Kunstschilder by ***, directed by "Oom Lokomotief" and performed in Paarl and Montagu, as well as ***.

[**EXPAND**]

Aurora II, Cape Town (1866-1886)

History

Aurora was founded as a formal Dutch Rederijkerskamer (oratory club), the second to be opened in the Cape Province (after Thespis). Established in Cape Town as a closed society on 4 October 1866, under the motto Onvermoeide vlijt komt alles te boven ("Untiring hard work overcomes everything"), its members consisted of leading Dutch and Cape-Dutch families. Among them were such useful performers as J. Combrink, W. Combrink, J.M. Belinfante, D.H du Toit and H.W. Teengs. Teengs was also a playwright. Perhaps its best known member was to be actor and playwright Melt Brink, who soon became its secretary and guiding light, remaining in this position till 1886.

Although initially loyal to the British authorities, it steadily became a standard-bearer for the emergent Dutch-Afrikaans nationalism. However, its Dutch orientation gradually alienated it from the mainstream Afrikaans theatre.

Aurora was temporarily suspended during the first war of independence ("Eerste Vryheidsoorlog" - 1888-18**) and finally became defunct in 1890.

Aurora and Melt Brink were both honoured for their contribution to Dutch culture by the Dutch government in 1873.

Productions

Aurora followed the Dutch pattern of concentrating on poetry and plays under the guidance of professional teachers. Initially they tended to fragments from plays and poems by a range of Dutch poets and playwrights, but after Brink took over, they began to perform complete works as well, gradually also performing plays by local authors such as H.W. Teengs and Melt Brink.

Aurora never had its own premises, but performed in a variety of halls and theatres in and around Cape Town, including the Liedertafel Germania (or Germania Hall), cnr Hout and Loop streets, the Oddfellows Hall in Plein Street, and "de zaal van den Heer Hutchinson" (Hutchinson's Hall) in Nieuw Street. As a result productions were simply and portably done, and the authors had to bear this in mind. Initially no women were allowed to be members and men played the female parts, but from 11 July 1876 onwards (when a woman finally appeared in a production, Het Ijzerin, at the Oddfellows Hall), women became part of the association.

Some performances:

1868: Uitgefloten (??) and De Arme Rykaard (Nieuwmeyer) in the hall of the Germania Liedertafel, Cape Town on 7 May.

1868: Willem Nel and the afterpiece Opstand 1815 , both by Teengs.

1869: Het Origineele Testament (Melt Brink) at the Germania Hall on 29 April

1876: Het Ijzerin, at the Oddfellows Hall on 11 July.

1877: De Offers der Vrijheid of De Slagers van Ghent in 1877

Aurora III, Cape Town (1909-1914)

A new Aurora was established as the theatre-division of the Algemeen Nederlandsch Verbond (A.N.V.),a cultural association in Cape Town, in 1909. This was probably done in association with members of the - by then defunct - former Rederijkerskamer (oratory-club) (Aurora II). It was led by Melt Brink as chair, with P. Koster as vice-chair, Gerrit van Heerde as secretary, and ordinary members Olga van Oordt and Cath. Doyer. The new company lasted till 1914.

[***CHECK BOSMAN/NIENABER**] AURORA.

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp.

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.

P.J. du Toit. 1988. Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika. Pretoria: Academica

Jill Fletcher. 1994. The Story of Theatre in South Africa: A Guide to its History from 1780-1930. Cape Town: Vlaeberg: p.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc

Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page