George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is revered as one of the great British dramatists, credited not only with memorable works, but the revival of the then-suffering English theatre. Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland, left mostly to his own devices after his mother ran off to London to pursue a musical career. He educated himself for the most part, and eventually worked for a real estate agent. This experience founded in him a concern for social injustices, seeing poverty and general unfairness afoot, and would go on to address this in many of his works. In 1876, Shaw joined his mother in London where he would finally attain literary success. «Getting Married», comes from a satirical standpoint, much like so many other of Shaw's works. The story follows a family getting together for a wedding, all the while building a case for the necessity of easy divorce proceedings.
Die drama handel oor die lewe van die Griekse digter-staatsman Periandros (627-585 v.C.), die alleenheeser van Korinthe, wat sy groot droom probeer verwesenlik: om Korinthe ’n wêreldstad te maak.
Na sewe jaar word ’n gevreesde bendeleier Map Jacobs op parool uit die tronk vrygelaat en op almal se lippe is die vraag, het Map verander of is hy steeds die ou Map? Die drama speel hom af na die gedwonge verskuiwings vanuit die Kaap na die vlaktes. Dit gee die leser ’n blik op die leefwyses van die ontworteldes, hul lief en leed en sommige se desperate hunkering na ’n beter bestaan.
Die nag van legio is Du Plessis se debuutdrama. Die karakters in die drama is almal geestelik versteurd en die handeling word in een nag voltrek. Hierdie drama besorg aan hom die W.A. Hofmeyr-prys in 1970 en die Hertzogprys in 1972.
Uit die flenters van oorloë smous Priscilla vir haar en haar familie ʼn lewe aanmekaar. 'n Gemeenskap op die Kaapse Vlakte bloei op die snypunt van politieke ordes, bende-base en godsdiensleiers. Soms is daar eilandjies vrede, soos in enige goeie oorlog. Maar oorlog is soos liefde: dit sal ʼn pad vind. En solank die bloeddruk klop, sal Priscilla se smokkelhandel oorleef, in die kantlyn van die geskiedenis. Amy Jephta se epiese teaterstuk vertel die verhaal van ʼn gemeenskap, ʼn verhaal veel groter as dié van individuele karakters. Hierdie herwerking van Bertholt Brecht se Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder bied geen eenvoudige antwoorde nie, maar vlek ʼn sosiale werklikheid oop tot op die been.
The Shadow of the Hummingbird explores the loss of innocence and the need to maintain a sense of wonder at the fleeting beauty of the world. The play premiered at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, USA, in 2014, and an expanded version was subsequently staged at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town, as well as in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein. Athol Fugard returned to the stage for the first time in 15 years to play the role of Oupa in these two productions. This publication reflects the South African production, and is regarded by the authors as the final and definitive one.
Die potlooddief en die engel is ’n hedendaagse blyspel wat losweg gebaseer is op die Middeleeuse mirakel- en moraliteitspele. Alles is moontlik, met die gevolg dat hierdie heerlike en hoogs opvoerbare komedie, wat met groot sukses voorgeskryf is, net sulke prettige leesstof is.
Dié drama, ’n liries en droomagtige maar tegelyk ook skreiend pynlike stuk oor herinnering en ongeregtigheid, is reeds in 1978 geskryf, in die hoogbloei van apartheid en twee jaar ná die Soweto-opstand. Dit is etlike kere opgevoer, maar word nou die eerste keer gepubliseer. Dit is in wese ’n versetdrama, maar die artistieke krag en durende relevansie daarvan lê in die wyse waarop dit wys hoe pynlik intiem verset en lojaliteit verstrengel is. Goree word gesien as Small se mees persoonlike letterkundige werk; hy het dit self beskryf as ’n gefiksionaliseerde outobiografie. Die titel van die teks is ook die naam van die gehuggie naby Robertson waar Small grootgeword het. Die drama gaan oor ’n bruin man wat ’n bom in ’n supermark geplant het en dan weens die terreurdaad verhoor en opgesluit word. Gedurende die verhoor en ook in sy tronksel tree hy deur middel van terugflitse in ’n voortdurende gesprek met die verlede, spesifiek met die sleutelmomente wat sy identiteit en sy verset bepaal het. Die klimaks van die drama is ’n gesprek – ’n konfrontasie – in die tronksel waaraan die aangehoudene, sy vrou en sy pa, sowel as die Afrikaanse bewaarder deelneem. Die klimaks wentel om die gewaarwording dat gevangene en bewaarder verdeel én saamgesnoer word deur dit wat hul onderskeie identiteite bepaal. Dit gaan hier om óns taal, óns kerk en óns grond. Dit is daarom só betekenisvol dat hierdie drama, wat aanvanklik in Engels geskryf is, nou in Afrikaans gepubliseer word. Die skrywer se verset teen sy onderwerping deur taalgenote word hierdeur die bevestiging van ’n grondliggende lojaliteit.
This drama, a lyrical and dreamy but at the same time searingly painful piece about reminiscence and injustice, was written in 1978, in the heyday of apartheid and two years after the Soweto uprising. It has been staged several times, but this is the first time it has been published. It is essentially a piece of resistance theatre, but its artistic strength and lasting relevance lie in the way it demonstrates how painfully intimate resistance and loyalty are entangled.
The Orange Earth is regarded as Small’s most personal literary work; he himself described it as a fictionalised autobiography. The title of the text is in fact the name of the hamlet near Robertson where Small grew up. The drama tells the story of a coloured man who plants a bomb in a supermarket and is then prosecuted and jailed for this deed of terror. During the trial and in his prison cell he has an ongoing conversation through flashbacks with the past, specifically the key moments that determined his identity and his resistance. The climax of the drama is a conversation – a confrontation – in the prison cell in which the detainee, his wife and his father, as well as the Afrikaans warden, participate. This climax revolves around the perception that the captive and warden are separated but also joined by that which determines their respective identities. What is at stake is our language, our church, our land. It is therefore very significant that this drama, originally written in English, is now being published in Afrikaans. The writer’s protest against his subjugation by his language compatriots hereby becomes confirmation of a fundamental loyalty.