Difference between revisions of "The Birds"

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(Greek:  Ὄρνιθες) A comedy by Aristophanes. Written and performed in 414BC. Numerous translations have been made of it over the years, ''inter alia'' by Eugene O'Neill Jr and Gilbert Murray.  
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''[[The Birds]]'' (Greek:  ''[[ρνιθες]]'', ''[[Ornithes]]'') is a comedy by Aristophanes (c. 446 – c. 386 BC)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophanes].
 +
 
 +
''Not to be confused with the 1952 Daphne du Maurier story or the famous Alfred Hitchcock film of 1963, based on the tale.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)]''
 +
 
 +
== The original text ==
 +
 
 +
A comedy about the Athenian Pisthetaerus, who convinces the birds to create a great city in the sky and become gods once more.  
 +
 
 +
Written and performed in 414BC.
 +
 
 +
==Translations and adaptations==
 +
 
 +
Numerous translations have been made of it over the years, ''inter alia'' English versions by Eugene O'Neill (Jr) and Gilbert Murray, as well as translations and adaptations in indigenous  South African languages by various authors.
 +
 
 +
'''South African versions include''':
 +
 
 +
''[[Die Voëls]]'' ("The birds") by the classicist and translator [[J.P.J. van Rensburg]] is described as a "nabootsing van Aristophanes se anapeste" (i.e. an attempt to imitate Aristophanes's use of anapest metrical pattern) and was published  in 1966 as "Aristophanes: Die Voëls, 685-722" in the centenary number of the ''Klassieke Nuusbrief'', the newsletter of the Classical Association of the [[University of Stellenbosch]].
 +
 
 +
A four page [[Afrikaans]] text by an unnamed author, simply titled ''[[Die Voëls]]'' and credited to Aristophanes, was found in the [[Stellenbosch Drama Department]] archives in 2022. In this case it indicates the names of performers who seem to have appeared in a production of it. No indication when or by whom.  The names given are: [[Maretha Kritzinger]], [[G. de Villiers]], [[Sandra Floyd]], [[J. Heyes]], [[Marianne Kotze]] and [[V. Dark]]. The nature of the text seems to suggest it may have been written for performance by children or puppets.
 +
 
 +
''[[Die Voëltjies]]'' ("The little birds") is a one-act play by [[Kobus Strydom]], said to be based on ''[[The Birds]]'' by Aristophanes, trasported to a Souyth African setting with local names for the characters. A bound copy of the typed text (a handwritten note suggesting it belonged to a "Mr Hanekom" and that 5 copies were to be made) was found in the [[Stellenbosch Drama Department]] archives in 2022.
 +
 
 +
''[[Die Hand Vol Vere]]'' ([[Afrikaans]] for "The Hand Full of Feathers") is an adaptation by [[André P. Brink]](1971), a satire which comments on South Africans and the politics of the time (See [[ESAT Bibliography Van S-Van Z|Van Zyl Smit]], 2005). The text was apparently not published.
 +
 
 +
''[[Izinyoni]]'' ([[isiZulu]] for "Birds") is a 1974 adaptation by [[Themi Gwala]].
 +
 
 +
''[[Boklied]]'' ([[Afrikaans]] for "Goat Song") is a play by [[Breyten Breytenbach]]. As both [[ESAT Bibliography Van S-Van Z|Van Zyl-Smit]] (2005, p.273) and [[ESAT Bibliography Com-Cop|Conradie]] (1998, pp. 15-22) have pointed out, the second act of Breytenbach's complex and controversial play is a reworking of '''''The Birds'''''.
  
 
== Performance history in South Africa ==
 
== Performance history in South Africa ==
 +
 +
Circa 1966(?) Die V version done by students at [[Stellenbosch University]], featuring [[Maretha Kritzinger]], [[G. de Villiers]], [[Sandra Floyd]], [[J. Heyes]], [[Marianne Kotze]] and [[V. Dark]]. 
  
 
1965: Performed by the [[Drama Society]] of the [[University of Cape Town]], in the [[Little Theatre]],  directed by [[Peter Kleinschmidt]], using the Arrowsmith translation.   
 
1965: Performed by the [[Drama Society]] of the [[University of Cape Town]], in the [[Little Theatre]],  directed by [[Peter Kleinschmidt]], using the Arrowsmith translation.   
  
−
1966: Performed by the [[Drama Department ]] of the [[University of Natal]], , directed by [[Pieter Scholtz]] using the D.Fitts and W. Arrowsmith translation.  
+
1966: Performed by the [[University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama]], directed by [[Pieter Scholtz]] using the D.Fitts and W. Arrowsmith translation.  
  
−
1973: Performed by the [[Drama Department ]] of the [[University of Natal]], , directed by [[Peter Larlham]], using the D.Fitts and W. Arrowsmith translation.
+
1970: ''[[Die Hand Vol Vere]]'', [[André P. Brink]]'s [[Afrikaans]] adaptation was produced by the [[PACT Youth Company|Youth Company]] of the [[Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal]] ([[PACT]]) in  1970. A first version, directed by [[Carel Trichardt]], was staged in Pretoria in December 1970; a revised version, directed by [[Francois Swart]], was staged three months later in Johannesburg and then taken on tour.
  
−
1980: Performed by the [[Drama Society]] of the [[University of Cape Town]],  
+
1971: ''[[Die Hand Vol Vere]]'', [[André P. Brink]]'s [[Afrikaans]] adaptation was staged by [[PACT]], directed by [[Francois Swart]], with [[Will Bernard]] (Pistorius), [[David van der Merwe]] (Van der Merwe), [[Frantz Dobrowsky]] (Swartkraai), [[Nigel Vermaas]] (Hoepoe), [[Marie Koeleman]] (Nagtegaal), [[Sydney Rogers]] (Gerrebek), [[Janice Honeyman]] (Gaatjie), [[Jan Engelen]] (Staatsamptenaar), [[Stephan Bouwer]] (Wurm), [[Marietta Wessels]] (Boodskappie) and [[Joan Friedman]] (Darling). Designs by [[Patricia Slavin]] and choreography by [[Sandra Prinsloo]].
  
−
1982: Performed by the [[Drama Department ]] of the [[University of Natal]], adapted and directed by [[Mervyn McMurtry]].  
+
1973: Performed in English by the [[University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama]], directed by [[Peter Larlham]], using the D.Fitts and W. Arrowsmith translation.
  
 +
1974: ''[[Izinyoni]]'', the [[isiZulu]] adaptation by [[Themi Gwala]] was produced in 1974 at the [[Casa Cinema]] in Port Shepstone, Natal, in aid of the LEARN fund of the [[The Daily News]]. It was open to all race groups, even though theatres in South Africa were segregated till 1977.
  
−
2004-2005: Presented at the [[Dionysus Festival]] in in the [[Kirstenbosh Amphitheatre]], directed by [[Roy Sargeant]].
+
1980: Performed by the [[Drama Society]] of the [[University of Cape Town]],  
  
−
2011-2012: Presented in the Gilbert Murray translation by [[Siyasanga Cape Town Theatre Company]] and [[Artscape]] in the [[Kirstenbosh Amphitheatre]] 20 December 2011-15 January 2012.  Directed by [[Roy Sargeant]], design by [[Keith Anderson]], original music by [[Michael Tuffin]], choreography by [[Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi]]. Production manager Alfred Rietmann, stage manager Jerome Chapman, masks made by Corrine Smit and Hansie Visagie. Cast: Jeroen Kranenbug, [[Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi]], [[Armand Aucamp]]. Members of ''The Chorus'': [[Francis Chouler]], [[Frans Hamman]], [[Lee Roodt]], [[Anele Situlweni]], [[Michael Inglis]], [[Riaan Visman]], [[Melissa Haiden]], [[Wiseman Sithole]], [[Zonda Njokweni]].
+
1982: Performed by the [[University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama]], adapted and directed by [[Mervyn McMurtry]].  
  
−
==Translations and adaptations==
+
1984: ''[[Die Hand Vol Vere]]'', [[André P. Brink]]'s [[Afrikaans]] adaptation was produced by [[PACOFS]], directed by [[David Matheson]] with [[Eric Nobbs]], [[James Borthwick]] and [[Anita de Jager]].
  
−
''[[Die hand vol vere]]'' ([[Afrikaans]] for "The Hand Full of Feathers") by [[André P. Brink]](1971), a satire which comments on South Africans and the politics of the time. Produced by the [[PACT Youth Company|Youth Company]] of the [[Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal]] ([[PACT]]) in  1970. A first version, directed by [[Carel Trichardt]],  was staged in Pretoria in December 1970; a revised version, directed by [[Francois Swart]],  was staged three months later in Johannesburg and then taken on tour. The text was apparently not published.
+
1988: [[Breyten Breytenbach]]'s ''[[Boklied]]'' was performed at the [[KKNK]], Roodepoort and Bloemfontein, directed by [[Marthinus Basson]].
  
−
''[[Izinyoni]]''  ([[isiZulu]] for "Birds") by [[Themi Gwala]]. Produced in 1974 at the [[Casa Cinema]] in Port Shepstone, Natal, in aid of the LEARN fund of the [[The Daily News]]. It was open to all race groups, even though theatres in South Africa were segregated till 1977.  
+
2004-2005: Presented in the Gilbert Murray translation at the [[Dionysus Festival]] in the [[Kirstenbosh Amphitheatre]], directed by [[Roy Sargeant]] starring [[Jeroen Kranenburg]], [[Nhlanhla Mavundla]], [[Jacques Theron]], [[Johan Baird]], [[Stian Bam]], [[Luke Viviers]], [[Ryan Coetsee]], [[Wayne Hendricks]], [[Riaan Visman]], [[Ryan Di Domenico]] and [[Wiseman Sithole]].
  
−
''[[Boklied]]'' ([[Afrikaans]] for "Goat Song") by [[Breyten Breytenbach]], performed at the KKNK, Roodepoort and Bloemfontein, directed by [[Marthinus Basson]]. (1998). As both Van Zyl-Smit (2005, p.273) and Conradie (1998) have pointed out, the second act of Breytenbach's complex and controversial play is a reworking of [[The Birds]].
+
2011-2012: Presented in the Gilbert Murray translation by [[Siyasanga Cape Town Theatre Company]] and [[Artscape]] in the [[Kirstenbosh Amphitheatre]] 20 December 2011-15 January 2012.  Directed by [[Roy Sargeant]], design by [[Keith Anderson]], original music by [[Michael Tuffin]], choreography by [[Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi]]. Production manager [[Alfred Rietmann]], stage manager [[Jerome Chapman]], masks made by [[Corrine Smit]] and [[Hansie Visagie]]. Cast: [[Jeroen Kranenburg]], [[Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi]], [[Armand Aucamp]]. Members of ''The Chorus'': [[Francis Chouler]], [[Frans Hamman]], [[Lee Roodt]], [[Anele Situlweni]], [[Michael Inglis]], [[Riaan Visman]], [[Melissa Haiden]], [[Wiseman Sithole]], [[Zonda Njokweni]].
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
 +
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_%28play%29
  
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(play)
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(play)
  
−
Van Zyl Smit in  ([[SATJ]] No 19,  2005)  
+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristophanes
 +
 
 +
[[ESAT Bibliography Van S-Van Z|Van Zyl Smit]] in  ([[SATJ]] No 19,  2005)  
  
 
http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/8418  
 
http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/8418  
Line 36: Line 68:
 
http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/8396
 
http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/8396
  
−
Programme: ''[[The Birds]]'', [[Kirstenbosch Amphitheatre]] 20 December 2011-15 January 2012.  
+
https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA03031896_52
  
−
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
+
[[PACT]] theatre programme, 1971.
 +
 
 +
[[Petru Wessels|Petru]] & [[Carel Trichardt]] theatre programme collection.
  
−
== Return to ==
+
''[[PACOFS]] Drama 25 Years, 1963-1988''.
  
−
Return to [[ESAT Plays 1 B|B]] in Plays I Original SA Plays
+
Review by [[Rafiek Mammon]], ''[[Cape Times]]'', 16 December 2004.
  
−
Return to [[ESAT Plays 2 B|B]] in Plays II Foreign Plays
+
Programme: ''[[The Birds]]'', [[Kirstenbosch Amphitheatre]] 20 December 2011-15 January 2012.
  
−
Return to [[ESAT Plays 3 B|B]] in Plays III  Collections
+
Review by [[Astrid Stark]], ''[[Cape Times]]'', 28 December 2011.
  
−
Return to [[ESAT Festivals  B|B]] in Plays  IV: Festivals and Pageants
+
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
  
−
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Plays]]
+
== Return to ==
  
−
Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
+
Return to [[PLAYS I: Original SA plays]]
  
−
Return to [[Main Page]]
+
Return to [[PLAYS II: Foreign plays]]
  
 +
Return to [[PLAYS III: Collections]]
  
−
Return to [[ESAT Plays 1 B|B]] in Plays 1 Original SA Plays
+
Return to [[PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances]]
  
−
Return to [[ESAT Plays 2 B|B]] in Plays 2 Foreign Plays
+
Return to [[South_African_Festivals|South African Festivals and Competitions]]
  
−
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Plays]]
+
Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
  
 
Return to [[Main Page]]
 
Return to [[Main Page]]

Latest revision as of 09:23, 8 March 2023

The Birds (Greek: ρνιθες, Ornithes) is a comedy by Aristophanes (c. 446 – c. 386 BC)[1].

Not to be confused with the 1952 Daphne du Maurier story or the famous Alfred Hitchcock film of 1963, based on the tale.[2]

The original text

A comedy about the Athenian Pisthetaerus, who convinces the birds to create a great city in the sky and become gods once more.

Written and performed in 414BC.

Translations and adaptations

Numerous translations have been made of it over the years, inter alia English versions by Eugene O'Neill (Jr) and Gilbert Murray, as well as translations and adaptations in indigenous South African languages by various authors.

South African versions include:

Die Voëls ("The birds") by the classicist and translator J.P.J. van Rensburg is described as a "nabootsing van Aristophanes se anapeste" (i.e. an attempt to imitate Aristophanes's use of anapest metrical pattern) and was published in 1966 as "Aristophanes: Die Voëls, 685-722" in the centenary number of the Klassieke Nuusbrief, the newsletter of the Classical Association of the University of Stellenbosch.

A four page Afrikaans text by an unnamed author, simply titled Die Voëls and credited to Aristophanes, was found in the Stellenbosch Drama Department archives in 2022. In this case it indicates the names of performers who seem to have appeared in a production of it. No indication when or by whom. The names given are: Maretha Kritzinger, G. de Villiers, Sandra Floyd, J. Heyes, Marianne Kotze and V. Dark. The nature of the text seems to suggest it may have been written for performance by children or puppets.

Die Voëltjies ("The little birds") is a one-act play by Kobus Strydom, said to be based on The Birds by Aristophanes, trasported to a Souyth African setting with local names for the characters. A bound copy of the typed text (a handwritten note suggesting it belonged to a "Mr Hanekom" and that 5 copies were to be made) was found in the Stellenbosch Drama Department archives in 2022.

Die Hand Vol Vere (Afrikaans for "The Hand Full of Feathers") is an adaptation by André P. Brink(1971), a satire which comments on South Africans and the politics of the time (See Van Zyl Smit, 2005). The text was apparently not published.

Izinyoni (isiZulu for "Birds") is a 1974 adaptation by Themi Gwala.

Boklied (Afrikaans for "Goat Song") is a play by Breyten Breytenbach. As both Van Zyl-Smit (2005, p.273) and Conradie (1998, pp. 15-22) have pointed out, the second act of Breytenbach's complex and controversial play is a reworking of The Birds.

Performance history in South Africa

Circa 1966(?) Die V version done by students at Stellenbosch University, featuring Maretha Kritzinger, G. de Villiers, Sandra Floyd, J. Heyes, Marianne Kotze and V. Dark.

1965: Performed by the Drama Society of the University of Cape Town, in the Little Theatre, directed by Peter Kleinschmidt, using the Arrowsmith translation.

1966: Performed by the University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama, directed by Pieter Scholtz using the D.Fitts and W. Arrowsmith translation.

1970: Die Hand Vol Vere, André P. Brink's Afrikaans adaptation was produced by the Youth Company of the Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal (PACT) in 1970. A first version, directed by Carel Trichardt, was staged in Pretoria in December 1970; a revised version, directed by Francois Swart, was staged three months later in Johannesburg and then taken on tour.

1971: Die Hand Vol Vere, André P. Brink's Afrikaans adaptation was staged by PACT, directed by Francois Swart, with Will Bernard (Pistorius), David van der Merwe (Van der Merwe), Frantz Dobrowsky (Swartkraai), Nigel Vermaas (Hoepoe), Marie Koeleman (Nagtegaal), Sydney Rogers (Gerrebek), Janice Honeyman (Gaatjie), Jan Engelen (Staatsamptenaar), Stephan Bouwer (Wurm), Marietta Wessels (Boodskappie) and Joan Friedman (Darling). Designs by Patricia Slavin and choreography by Sandra Prinsloo.

1973: Performed in English by the University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama, directed by Peter Larlham, using the D.Fitts and W. Arrowsmith translation.

1974: Izinyoni, the isiZulu adaptation by Themi Gwala was produced in 1974 at the Casa Cinema in Port Shepstone, Natal, in aid of the LEARN fund of the The Daily News. It was open to all race groups, even though theatres in South Africa were segregated till 1977.

1980: Performed by the Drama Society of the University of Cape Town,

1982: Performed by the University of Natal, Department of Speech and Drama, adapted and directed by Mervyn McMurtry.

1984: Die Hand Vol Vere, André P. Brink's Afrikaans adaptation was produced by PACOFS, directed by David Matheson with Eric Nobbs, James Borthwick and Anita de Jager.

1988: Breyten Breytenbach's Boklied was performed at the KKNK, Roodepoort and Bloemfontein, directed by Marthinus Basson.

2004-2005: Presented in the Gilbert Murray translation at the Dionysus Festival in the Kirstenbosh Amphitheatre, directed by Roy Sargeant starring Jeroen Kranenburg, Nhlanhla Mavundla, Jacques Theron, Johan Baird, Stian Bam, Luke Viviers, Ryan Coetsee, Wayne Hendricks, Riaan Visman, Ryan Di Domenico and Wiseman Sithole.

2011-2012: Presented in the Gilbert Murray translation by Siyasanga Cape Town Theatre Company and Artscape in the Kirstenbosh Amphitheatre 20 December 2011-15 January 2012. Directed by Roy Sargeant, design by Keith Anderson, original music by Michael Tuffin, choreography by Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Production manager Alfred Rietmann, stage manager Jerome Chapman, masks made by Corrine Smit and Hansie Visagie. Cast: Jeroen Kranenburg, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Armand Aucamp. Members of The Chorus: Francis Chouler, Frans Hamman, Lee Roodt, Anele Situlweni, Michael Inglis, Riaan Visman, Melissa Haiden, Wiseman Sithole, Zonda Njokweni.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_%28play%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(play)

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

Van Zyl Smit in (SATJ No 19, 2005)

http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/8418

http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/productions/production/8396

https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA03031896_52

PACT theatre programme, 1971.

Petru & Carel Trichardt theatre programme collection.

PACOFS Drama 25 Years, 1963-1988.

Review by Rafiek Mammon, Cape Times, 16 December 2004.

Programme: The Birds, Kirstenbosch Amphitheatre 20 December 2011-15 January 2012.

Review by Astrid Stark, Cape Times, 28 December 2011.

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 The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page

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