Lydia Lindeque, the pioneering South African actress and wife of Uys Krige, swore that this story is true; Around the late 1940’s in a small rural town, in a town-hall made of wood and iron, a traveling theatre company performed a play in Afrikaans. The whole (white) town turned out. The mayor and the dominee, deacons and dignitaries lined the front rows. The melodrama proceeds. The rest of the audience, restless and loud behind the pound seats, are new to drama on the stage. A shot is fired. An actress pitches over sideways into the heros arms. He turns, quivering, to the audience and implores, “En wat moet ek nou maak?” Someone at the back calls out, “Naai haar voor sy koud word!” The act is halted. The mayor confers with the dominee, addresses the audience and unforthcoming culprit; behave, or no more play. The konstabel is set to stroll up and down the central aisle, brandishing his truncheon menacingly. The actors crank it up again. On stage a cup of tea is sipped. With pinkie cocked, the hero muses, “Wat is darem lekkerder as n koppie tee?” The konstabel turns to the crowd, his truncheon prominent in his hand, “As iemand poes sê, slat ek hom stukkend!”
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 15:25:59 +0000
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