Finding balance : a study of the text and context of two Afrikaans festival comedy scripts

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores two critically acclaimed Afrikaans festival comedies, which are situational and predominantly located in a specific time and place, and the question how they can gain continuity in the wider theatre realm. Central to this investigation is the context in which these spectral productions have been formed and performed. Through a close analysis of the comedy texts that have enjoyed great success on recent festival circuits, this thesis seeks to identify aspects of these comedies that may account for their unusual endurance and acclaim within the festival context. A correlative aim of this research is to contribute towards creating an afterlife for the chosen scripts by making them available to other researchers.To this end, the two original scripts, N is vir Neurose (2012) by Christiaan Olwagen and Amper, Vrystaat (2015) by Nico Scheepers, are included as addenda to this thesis. These texts are analysed within their respective original performance contexts. Given the context in which these productions have been formed, the festival space in general and the respective physical performance space in particular, have a powerful impact on the potential afterlives of the productions: these spaces are as transitory as the plays themselves. Comedy as a genre appears inherently ghost-like in this distinctly localised situation.A contextual as well as thematic analysis of these two plays show a subtle balance between wit and taboo, as well as comedy and drama. The plays adhere to generic comedy characteristics as well as combining various techniques of humour to create refreshingly local dark comedy. These comic techniques, along with the inherent dark comedy qualities of the plays, transcend language and culture, thus increasing the potential for their continuity beyond the festival context.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University