Na pełnym morzu

From ESAT
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Na pełnym morzu ("On the high seas") is a Polish play in one act by Sławomir Mrożek (1930–2013)[1]

The original text

An absurdist tale of survival and democratic decision making, in which we see three men starving on a life raft, who must determine which of them is to become dinner for the other two. One is thin, one is medium, and one is fat. The men employ a hilariously logical series of civil procedures to arrive at a solution.

The Polish premiére production took place in 1961.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into German as Auf hoher See ("On the high seas") by Ludwig Zimmerer.

Translated into English as Out at Sea by (Published in Six Plays by Slawomir Mrozek by ‎ Grove Press, 1967)

Translated into Afrikaans as Vlot ter See ("raft on the sea") by an unnamed author, but credited to "Dept. Drama Universiteit Stellenbosch". It was intended for use by the Stellenbosch Drama Department.

Adapted for TV and film a number of times, the first done in 1965.

Performance history in South Africa

1973: Presented in English by the Rhodes University Drama Department, directed by Henry Goodman.

1976: Performed in English by the CAPAB English Company in Cape Town

1979: Performed in Afrikaans as a one-act play entitled Vlot ter See by students of the University of Stellenbosch Drama Department under the auspices of the Libertas Theatre Club in August, directed by Herman Pretorius.

Sources

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na_pe%C5%82nym_morzu

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0610720/?ref_=tt_ov_wr

Theatre programme, 1979.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C5%82awomir_Mro%C5%BCek

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_to_Sea

https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/10007/out-at-sea

Various entries in the NELM catalogue.

Copy of the original typed text, found in the Stellenbosch Drama Department archives in 2022.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to South African Radio Plays and Serials

Return to South African Television Plays and Series

Return to South_African_Films

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page