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12 April 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin
The Wolves
The Wolves is a play which does not conform to mainstream female stereotypes.
It is the perfect father and daughter team - Gerben Kamper, well-known actor and former drama lecturer at the University of the Free State (UFS), and his daughter Marijda Kamper, a current Drama and Theatre Arts staff member at UFS who have taken on the task of directing and producing the play, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe.

It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2017. “The text is regarded very highly, most drama texts do not normally get such recognition,” said Marijda.  

The play will be performed at the Scaena on the Bloemfontein Campus from Wednesday 10 April 2019.

“This play provides an excellent acting opportunity for our students. It is also nice to get a play which accommodates so many female actors,” said Marijda. Because this play digs deep within the daily struggles of being a girl, it is a sort of homage to the current #MeToo movement. It is a play about the coming-of-age for nine girls and centres in a non-stereotypical manner on the experiences, attitudes, anxiety and the adolescent hormonal changes of girls in the contemporary world. 

“It is very exciting to be back at the department. Especially with this play. It is very different from the usual plays we get. As it is set on an indoor soccer field, it is quite a different ballgame. This play provides the opportunity to focus on all the facets of acting,” said Gerben. 

The play has six scenes and takes place just before the start of a soccer match. “So the girls are busy with warm-up exercises just minutes before the whistle,” said Marijda. “The soccer unit at KovsieSport helped us a lot. They arranged a real soccer coach to assist us, and for two weeks she trained our girls like real soccer players.”



News Archive

Marikana and its subsequent economic and political consequences
2013-05-30

 

Dawie Roodt and Prof Adam Habib
30 May 2013

The Marikana incident is a bitter moment for South Africa's new political establishment; a tragedy on the same scale as Sharpeville and the Soweto massacre.

This is how Prof Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal designate of the University of the Witwatersrand, described the sorrow during the CR Swart Memorial Lecture hosted by the Department of Political Studies and Governance.

Speaking on the topic The Post-Marikana landscape in South Africa, Prof Habib and Dawie Roodt, Chief Economist and Director of the Efficient Group, gave their views on the political and economic challenges confronting the country.

Prof Habib, a well-known political commentator, explained to the fully-packed CR Swart Auditorium how this tragedy provoked a national soul-searching.

Referencing from his highly-anticipated book South Africa's Suspended Revolution, Hopes and Prospects, Prof Habib said the difficulty Marikana poses is the challenge of inequality. According to him, inequality is the single biggest challenge of the South African society. He firmly believes that taking responsibility for poverty is a moral necessity. "Addressing poverty is absolutely crucial if we want to be a humane society."

In his presentation, Roodt informed the audience regarding recent data on population growth, unemployment and dependency ratios. These statistics gave an indication of how the country is doing. The economist said the only way to address unemployment, inequality and poverty is through economic growth.

"If we want to do something about inequality, we have to do something about skills – particularly skills for women. We must make it easier for people to get jobs," Roodt emphasised.

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