Collected Plays: 2009 - 2017

Allan Kolski Horwitz

Description

This collection contains five plays by the South African writer Allan Horwitz: The Pump Room; Comrade Babble; Boykie and Girlie; Jericho; and Book Marks. The plays explore the contradictions and dreams of the new and old South Africa, as well as universal themes that include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other moral dilemmas.

Sujets

• Littérature Africaine
• Littérature Africaine
• Romance
• Romance d'Afrique de l'Ouest

Informations

• Publié par: Botsotso Publishing
• Date de parution: 29 décembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781990922077
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 10 Mo

Extrait

COLLECTED PLAYS 2009 – 2017

ALLAN KOLSKI HORWITZ

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Arts Trust

Fîrst pubîshed în 2017 by the Paardeberg Arts Trust and Botsotso Box 30952, Braamonteîn, 2017 botsotso@artsînk.co.za www.botsotso.org.za

© în the text – Aan Koskî Horwîtz 2017 Cover îmage by Pîerre agarde ïSBN 978-0-9947081-0-6

The Pump Roomwas prevîousy pubîshed by Botsotso în 2010

Comrade Babbewas Irst pubîshed în the anthoogyAgaînst the Tîdeîn 2014

Photographs oJerîco© Sanmarî Maraîs (State Theatre)

The author woud îke to express hîs great apprecîatîon to the Natîona Arts Councî o South Arîca or îts contînuîng assîstance. Thîs support has been vîta în enabîng these pays to reach the stage.

THE PUMP ROOM

COMRADE BABBLE BOYKIE & GIRLIE JERICO BOOK MARKS Glossary

CONTENTS

1 61 97 133 191 228

The Pump Room

THE THE PUMP ROOM PUMP ROOM Allan Kolski Horwitz

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PETER and MIKE (Johannesburg productîon)

LOMBARD and MUMSIE (Johannesburg productîon) 2

LEWIS and ELS (Cape Town productîon)

ELS, LOMBARD and MUMSIE (Cape Town productîon) 3

The Pump Room

Program notes

Force creates pressure and pressure creates counter- pressure. The resut? A bowout.

The Pump Rooma drama about the întersectîon o the crîmîna and poîtîca îs words, the sexua and the îdeoogîca. ït îs a pay about the South Arîcan reaîty o the ate 1990s, but one whîch appîes to many other socîetîes that have experî- enced epochs în theîr hîstory when, ater a ong perîod o oppressîon, a new perîod strugges to resove the past and dea wîth resh chaenges. The centra event îs the murder o a ‘postman’ carryîng drugs. Over severa hours on a hot summer’s nîght, the consequences o thîs actîon cause a number o înter- connected peope to meet în the pump room o a pubîc swîmmîng poo în Cape Town. These dîsparate characters pay out the tensîons and contradîctîons o theîr pasts and presents, and a compex web o reatîonshîps emerges. One o the key eements îs the renewed conrontatîon between Peter, a mîd- de-aged pump room worker (but one-tîme actor and poîtîca actîvîst), wîth Mîke and ombard, ormer Apartheîd agents who had prevîousy detaîned and tortured hîm. Thîs hîstory dogs them. The tîme o both revoutîonary poîtîca actîvîsm and o state terrorîsm îs over – the cease Ire o 1994 has come înto pace and they are a now învoved în an underword o drug deaîng [and takîng] and are desperatey, î paradoxîcay, tryîng to restore some baance to theîr îves. Other characters are ewîs, Peter’s pump room assîstant who îs both a deaer and an înormer; Esîe, ewîs’s gîrrîend, a domestîc worker; and Mumsîe, aso a domestîc worker and occasîona prostîtute, who îs connected to both Peter and ombard, but în very dîferent, conLîctîng ways. An of-stage but întegra character îs Sandra [whose photograph în the orm o a poster domînates the pump room], Peter’s ex-comrade and over. Sandra was a whîte woman rom a prîvîeged Arîkan- er background who had joîned an underground resîstance group and was detaîned and tortured wîth hîm; her subsequent exîe to Canada and success as an actress îs a source o both prîde and paîn or Peter who has never stopped ovîng her and has never stopped condemnîng her or abandonîng hîm. ïn structura terms the Irst three acts întroduce the characters and set out the outînes o the actîon; the ast two carîy and expaîn theîr îdentîtîes and reatîon- shîps and provîde a soutîon to the înîtîa mystery: who ‘robbed’ the ‘postman’ and why? ïnThe Pump Roomï have trîed to merge soap opera and the cassîc Greek dra- mas that reentessy expose the consequences o both arrogance and weakness. ïn physîca terms the set represents such strongy contrasted psychoogîca states: the pump room îtse îs very sparse and dîmy ît, a conIned and smey space [to para- e the prîson ce în whîch Peter was once detaîned]; the outsîde sectîon, a moon-ît promenade wîth raîîngs acîng the ocean îs, though în stage terms much smaer than the pump room, a space that enabes the characters to dîvuge more întîmate and detaîs o theîr emotîons and thoughts. Throughout the pay, the audîa ee-

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The Pump Room

ments [the sound o Iters în the pump room, the ebb and Low o ocean waves] orm counterpoînts to the human noîse o conversatîon and verba chaenge. South Arîcan protest theatre has a rîch hîstory, but today’s îssues are în many ways more compex than those o the Apartheîd perîod and theîr exporatîon re- quîres a subter, more poetîc and sometîmes humorous approach. ï hope thîs pay contrîbutes to the evoutîon o a new dramatîc approach and stye to dea wîth these changed cîrcumstances. ~~ The Irst perormance o THE PUMP ROOM took pace at the Wîndybrow Theatre, Johannesburg on 24 Juy 2009 wîth the oowîng cast: PETER A Cooured man în hîs ortîes Shane de Kock EWïS A Cooured man în hîs twentîes Deckan Pamer MïKE A whîte man în hîs thîrtîes eeroy Duke OMBARD A whîte man în hîs ortîes Ben Horowîtz ESïE A Cooured woman în her twentîes ecurtîa Booysens MUMSïE A Cooured woman în her ortîes Nîcoe Hendrîcks A second productîon was staged în Aprî 2011 at Theatre în the Dîstrîct, Cape Town wîth the oowîng cast: PETER Peter Buter EWïS Macom Geertse MïKE Mathew ewîs OMBARD Nees Coetzee ESïE Kyîe Booysen MUMSïE Vanessa ee Both productîons were dîrected by Aan Koskî Horwîtz.

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