Vlyt en Kunst

Vlyt en Kunst (1834 to 1838) was a private Dutch amateur theatre company.

The company was founded in Cape Town , managed by J.T. van der Chys, with J.J. de Kock as secretary.

It is first mentioned by this name only in 1834, though the company itself claimed (in 1835) that it had been in existence for 3 years by then (i.e. had been founded in 1832), which leads Bosman (1928, p. 321) to argue that it was a continuation of an earlier company, Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst. The company was active till 1838, when two opposing groups formed within the company - one led by De Kock. By the end of 1838 this internal strife had caused the break-up of the company.

Performances

The company performed Dutch plays, including works by Molière and Von Kotzebue, most of the productions taking place in what was known as the Amateur Theatre, though they also occasionally used the African Theatre.

C.E. Boniface also wrote and translated some works for the company.

Performances included:

Clasius (Boniface), De Burger Edelman (Molière). .

[TH, JH]

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman, 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp. 321-342.

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

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