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Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa
Bredekamp, Leonore. 2024. Troubling apartheid and its Institutions Godspell in South Africa. Unpublished masters dissertation. Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/9d3db750544e85e35133edc2a3ffed9d Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.
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| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867613815236984832 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Bredekamp, Leonore |
| author2 | Venter, Carina |
| author_browse | Bredekamp, Leonore Venter, Carina |
| author_facet | Venter, Carina Bredekamp, Leonore |
| author_sort | Bredekamp, Leonore |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Bredekamp, Leonore. 2024. Troubling apartheid and its Institutions Godspell in South Africa. Unpublished masters dissertation. Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/9d3db750544e85e35133edc2a3ffed9d
Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2024. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/131593 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:42:07.859Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/131593 Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa Bredekamp, Leonore Venter, Carina Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Music. Theatrical producers and directors -- South Africa Godspell -- Production and direction Des and Dawn Lindberg Apartheid -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Music theater -- History and criticism Theater -- Censorship -- South Africa Theater -- Production and direction -- History Performing arts -- Audiences UCTD Bredekamp, Leonore. 2024. Troubling apartheid and its Institutions Godspell in South Africa. Unpublished masters dissertation. Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/9d3db750544e85e35133edc2a3ffed9d Thesis (MMus)--Stellenbosch University, 2024. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In 1973, Des and Dawn Lindberg produced and directed South Africa’s first production of the musical Godspell, with a multiracial cast consisting of professional and semi-professional actors. To avoid prosecution on grounds of the Group Areas Act, they took the show to Maseru, capital of Lesotho and had a highly successful, extended run. In South Africa the show was summarily banned on grounds of being blasphemous. The Lindbergs appealed and won the court case, which triggered a yearlong barrage in the press spanning rave reviews, irate letters from agonied aunts and debates between (mostly Afrikaans) clergymen. Already towards the end of the last run of their first Godspell production, in February 1975, the Lindbergs suggested that the production of Godspell ushered in a new era in South Africa – where theatres would be open to all races on both sides of the footlights (Curtain going up on new era for our theatre. Godspell show the way. 1975). This thesis evaluates this claim, whilst documenting the history and reception of the production against the backdrop of cultural and racial divisions and the power structures that prevailed in apartheid South Africa in the seventies. The chronology of events was reconstructed from the Lindbergs’ well-preserved archive of newspaper cuttings and semi-structured interviews I conducted with the Lindbergs and some of the surviving cast members. The documentation and analysis of the archive required a closer look at the history of censorship in South Africa and how a narrow interpretation of Christian morality came to determine legislation and norms. The production is also placed within the broader sphere of South African theatre and the socio-political climate that characterised the era. Lastly, the study reads between the lines of press cuttings and letters to the press, to find the underlying tensions, fears and attitudes in the psyche of the South African public of the seventies, at least of those who had access to theatres or the means to write in or to the press. The reception of Godspell reveals a tangible narrowmindedness – a conservatism that typified South Africa in the years just before the 1976 Soweto uprising, created at the intersection of racial ideologies, censorship and Christian Nationalism. The thesis also serves to provide more information about a seminal moment in South Africa’s theatre history that hitherto has only received cursory mention in theatre literature. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In 1973 het Des en Dawn Lindberg die musiekblyspel Godspell vir die eerste keer in Suid- Afrika opgevoer, met ‘n veelrassige rolverdeling van professionele en semi-professionele spelers. Om vervolging op grond van die Groepsgebiedewet vry te spring, het hulle die blyspel na Maseru (hoofstad van Lesotho) geneem, waar dit ‘n suksesvolle en verlengde speelvak geniet het. In Suid-Afrika is die produksie summier verban, op grond dat dit godslasterlik sou wees. Die Lindbergs het appèl aangeteken en die hofsaak gewen, wat die pers vir ‘n jaar en meer op hol gejaag het met daaglikse beriggewing – van die hoogste lof vir die produksie, tot suurknolbriewe aan koerante of hetige debatte tussen (meesal Afrikaanse) dominees. Die Teen die einde van die hulle eerste produksie van Godspell se tweejaarlange speelvak in Februarie 1975, het die Lindbergs reeds die bewering gemaak dat die produksie ‘n nuwe era sou inlei – een waarin teaters vir alle rasse aan beide kante van die voetligte toeganklik sou wees (Curtain going up on new era for our theatre. Godspell show the way. 1975). Hierdie tesis evalueer hierdie bewering, en dokumenteer terselfdertyd die geskiedenis en resepsie van die produksie teen die agtergrond van kulturele- en rasse skeidslyne kenmerkend van die sewentigerjare in apartheid Suid-Afrika. Die kronologie van gebeure was gerekonstrueer uit die Lindbergs se goedbewaarde argief van koerantknipsels en uit semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met die Lindberg egpaar en met sommige van die oorlewende rolspelers. Die ordening en analise van die argief het ‘n nader blik op die geskiedenis van sensuur in Suid-Afrika vereis en hoe ‘n bekrompe interpretasie van Christelike moraliteit ingespeel het op die bepaling van wetgewing en norme. Die produksie word ook geposisioneer binne die wyer sfeer van Suid-Afrikaanse teater en die sosio-politiese klimaat wat die era gekenmerk het. Ten laaste lees die studie tussen die lyne van koerantknipsels, om onderliggende spanninge, vrese en houdings in die psige van die Suid-Afrikaanse publiek van die sewentigerjare te vind – ten minste van die wat toegang tot teaters gehad het of instaat was om in of aan die pers te skryf . Die resepsie van Godspell lê ‘n tasbare verkramptheid bloot – ‘n konservatisme eie aan Suid-Afrika in die jare net voor die Soweto opstand in 1976 en wat geskep was by die kruispad van ras-ideologieë, sensuur en Christen-Nasionalisme. Die tesis dien ook om meer inligting beskikbaar te stel oor ‘n belangrike gebeurtenis in Suid-Afrikaanse teatergeskiedenis wat tot nou toe slegs vlugtig genoem word in teaterlektuur. Masters 2025-01-28T11:47:32Z 2025-01-28T11:47:32Z 2024-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/131593 en Stellenbosch University viii, 139 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Theatrical producers and directors -- South Africa Godspell -- Production and direction Des and Dawn Lindberg Apartheid -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Music theater -- History and criticism Theater -- Censorship -- South Africa Theater -- Production and direction -- History Performing arts -- Audiences UCTD Bredekamp, Leonore Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa |
| title | Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa |
| title_full | Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa |
| title_short | Troubling apartheid and its institutions Godspell in South Africa |
| title_sort | troubling apartheid and its institutions godspell in south africa |
| topic | Theatrical producers and directors -- South Africa Godspell -- Production and direction Des and Dawn Lindberg Apartheid -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Music theater -- History and criticism Theater -- Censorship -- South Africa Theater -- Production and direction -- History Performing arts -- Audiences UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/131593 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bredekampleonore troublingapartheidanditsinstitutionsgodspellinsouthafrica |