Veteran stage actress, Shirley Swartz (67) has returned to the acting world after a long absence. Shirley will be acting in the much- anticipated play by Athol Fugard, Die Laste Karretjie Graf (The Last Donkey Cart Grave). Pinehas Nakaziko reports from Windhoek
The socially apt play reflects very strongly on gender violence, a pandemic viewed and considered to be a growing African social problem and will stage on May 27 and 28 at Eldoraldo School Hall in Khomasdal. The play also deals with the nomadic lifestyle as sheep shearer of the Khoe and the Sun people.
The play is directed the Namibian award-winning playwright and theater director, Frederick Philander, who also translated it. Philander wrote Koning van die Ashoop and translated Boesman en Lena into Afrikaans some years ago.
In the Die Laste Karretjie Graf play, Shirley portrays the role of Ouma Mieta, the granny of the clan, whereby she keeps the family together after his son, the head of the house goes to jail for killing his wife.
The play will showcase as part of the 37th annual theatre festival of Committed Artists of Namibia (CAN). CAN, the most prolific community theatre group in the country, has secured the exclusive Namibian performing rights of the play, the only Afrikaans stage work ever written by Fugard. CAN’s director, Philander, says more than 80 established Namibian actors and would-be actors have been vying auditioning for powerful roles of the seven-character play since January. They range from 15 to 60-year-olds. Among the selected ones was Shirley.
This is not the first time Philander and Shirley are working closely together on the same play having acted together in Boesman en Lena in 1980.
Shirley says her first appearance in the play came after she went through a divorce in 1979 and when asked by Philander to audition for the play. “When I also saw an advert of the play in the paper, I wanted to try since acting has been my talent ever since,” says Shirley. She says she still have a passion for acting and she won’t just give up yet. “I am not yet old, 67 years old is just numbers, I still love what I do best which is acting.” Shirley advises young people to keep up with their talents and do something with their career. “If you don’t know what your talent is, you must always seek for it, at least try,” adds she.