Wat die hart is Maude Sandham and co-creator Hancu Louw’s National Arts Festival directing debut.
Wat die hart is Maude Sandham and co-creator Hancu Louw’s National Arts Festival directing debut.
“Wat die hart van vol is, loop die mond van oor…”
Inspired by the love Sandham and Louw have for their mother tongue, Afrikaans, they hope to present the language in a new light.
“Afrikaans has been dubbed as the language of the oppressor and carries such bad connotations,” Sandham said.
“Afrikaans culture is also only seen in a one-dimensional way. Wat die hart is a demonstration of the love for the language and culture that we found embedded in the amazing canon of Afrikaans literature."
The three-part show explores Afrikaans culture in a surrealist manner, Sandham says, drawing from the writings of Jan Rabie and Andre Brink, poetry by Antjie Krog and Merwe Scholtz, and a translation of the English, Preludes, by T.S Eliot.
The piece also contains texts written by Sandham, Louw and various cast members.
The rarity of Afrikaans cultural festivals as well as the limited number of Afrikaans pieces at the National Arts Festival was further inspiration for Wat die hart.
Sandham believes “language should not limit us. It can be transgressed and is available and accessible to everyone”.
With high expectations, the team aims to open the eyes, ears and minds of festival-goers to a selection of beautiful Afrikaans prose and poetry.
Sandham hopes the piece will be the start of a growing and thriving surge in Afrikaans performances at Fest.
Sandham and Louw, both fourth-year students at Rhodes University, have created and funded Wat die hart completely independently from the university.
They have relied on financial support from various local and national institutions that believe in the importance of the piece.
Wat die hart will show at the following times:
30 June 10am
1 July 4pm
2 July 8pm
4 July 4pm
6 July 10.30pm
All performances are at the Library Hall in Hill Street.
