BOSMAN’S PATRIOTS

Michaelhouse’s  Schlesinger Theatre will present Bosman’s Patriots directed by Janéne Steenkamp. It is written and performed by Tim Sandham and Angus Douglas.

Tim is an expert on Bosman, having co-written (with Professor Craig MacKenzie) A Bosman Companion – a definitive cross referenced guide on South Africa’s greatest humourist.

Bosman’s Patriots is the fifth production from Tim and Angus to deal with the life and works of Herman Charles Bosman. The two Bosmanphiles are regulars at the Bosman Literary Festival, held in Groot Marico every October.

In Bosman’s Patriots, Angus plays a liberal literary philosopher titled Hank Henning. Hank has been given a grant of 25,000 US dollars for a paper, and a lecture, on Literature of the Soil. He is to present his paper at the Harry Ransom Centre at the University of Texas at Austin. Tim plays Archie Archeson, a conservative old-school archivist windowless office in the basement of the National Archive. Archie has the unenviable task of fending off the outrageous requests (“No, I can’t find any evidence that the Union Buildings were part of some ancient civilisation”) of his boss, Ms Thuli Dlamini. Hank has the more enviable task of helping Thuli get over her divorce.

Over a series of funny and informative scenes, Archie manages to convince Hank that he should deliver his paper on Herman Charles Bosman – “a platteland patriot – passionate about the soil, a city boy speaking up for those grizzled backvelders, both black and white, living in the dry and dusty expanses of our beautiful land.”

Bosman created his own oeuvre: Bosmanesque. He developed a uniquely South African literary sensibility and he richly re-imagined the South African landscape both cultural and physical. His 160 short stories constitute a literary opus, an extended love-letter to a country so blessed with character. Bosman’s Patriots evokes the soul of Bosman and the spirit of his writing; it interrogates the question of Bosman’s legacy, and his attitudes to politics and race.

Bosman’s Patriots makes use of rarely seen AV material that includes interviews with people who knew him, and championed his work: e.g. Gordon Vorster, Aegidius Jean Blign Tim is an expert on Bosman, having co-written (with Professor Craig MacKenzie) A Bosman Companion – a definitive cross referenced guide on South Africa’s greatest humourist.

Bosman’s Patriots is the fifth production from Tim and Angus to deal with the life and works of Herman Charles Bosman. The two Bosmanphiles are regulars at the Bosman Literary Festival, held in Groot Marico every October.

In Bosman’s Patriots Angus plays Hank Henning - a liberal literary philosopher. Hank has been given a grant of 25 000 US dollars for a paper, and a lecture, on ‘Literature of the Soil’. He is to present his paper at the Harry Ransom Centre at the University of Texas at Austin. Tim plays Archie Archeson, a conservative old-school archivist windowless office in the basement of the National Archive. Archie has the unenviable task of fending off the outrageous requests (“No, I can’t find any evidence that the Union Buildings were part of some ancient civilisation”) of his boss, Ms Thuli Dlamini. Hank has the more enviable task of helping Thuli get over her divorce.

Over a series of funny and informative scenes, Archie manages to convince Hank that he should deliver his paper on Herman Charles Bosman – “a platteland patriot – passionate about the soil, a city boy speaking up for those grizzled backvelders, both black and white, living in the dry and dusty expanses of our beautiful land.”

Bosman created his own oeuvre: Bosmanesque. He developed a uniquely South African literary sensibility, and he richly re-imagined the South African landscape - both cultural and physical. His 160 short stories constitute a literary opus, an extended love-letter to a country so blessed with character. Bosman’s Patriots evokes the soul of Bosman and the spirit of his writing; it interrogates the question of Bosman’s legacy, and his attitudes to politics and race.

Bosman’s Patriots makes use of rarely seen AV material that includes interviews with people who knew him, and championed his work: e.g. Gordon Vorster, Aegidius Jean Blignaut, Bernard Sachs et al. It also includes projected images of Bosman’s rarely seen water-colours.

Bosman’s Patriots is poignant, informative, and side-splittingly funny – a worthy addition to South Africa’s literary landscape.

Santa van Baart (Director of the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Festival): “Angus and Tim are festival favourites. Their latest production, Bosman’s Patriots, is wise, warm and witty. I urge anyone, who has any interest in Bosman, or South African literature, to see it.”

Bosman’s Patriots is poignant, informative, and side-splittingly funny – a worthy addition to South Africa’s literary landscape. The show includes projected images of Bosman’s rarely seen watercolours.

Santa van Baart (Director of the Herman Charles Bosman Literary Festival) says: “Angus and Tim are festival favourites. Their latest production, Bosman’s Patriots, is wise, warm and witty. I urge anyone, who has any interest in Bosman, or South African literature, to see it.”

Bosman’s Patriots has a performance on September 12 at 19h30 at the Schlesinger Theatre at Michaelhouse. Tickets R80 (R60 concesssions. Booking through Mrs Angela Jonsson at theatre@michaelhouse.org or call 033 234 1314 (Weekdays between 08h00 and 13h00)