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Bart Wolffe

BART WOLFFE  (1952 - )

 Nationality:    Zimbabwean
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a


Driven by a need to make economic viability out of theatre performances throughout southern Africa by audience building , keeping production budgets practicable and drawing on a limited resource of professional stage actors, all the published plays of Bart Wolffe have several common principles. The plays are all either two-handers or monologues and could be considered fairly minimalist. They are easy to travel or tour and accordingly have been performed in a variety of settings and contexts, from intimate venues to main-stage. All of the plays, whether comic or tragic, touch on issues of alienation, whether in areas of minorities or discrimination or belief from topics ranging around issues such as addiction, gay rights, prostitution , loss of identity and innocence. Accordingly, the persona are all markedly individual and evolve around C S Lewis' axiom that "Character is plot." This allow for risk in performance which affords the actors the opportunity to exercise and showcase their skills and provide small companies with the ability to even produce a profit in a context as difficult as African Theatre and therefore make a living from their art.

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below is a list of Bart Wolffe's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 And For My Next Guest, Mr Leonardo Di CAprio         Angel         Art Of Accidental Stains, The         Beast         Daughter Of Darkness         Easy Come, Easy Go         Killing Rats         Legacy Of Stone, A         Man In The Cupboard, The         On Lonely Street         Question Of Alienation, A         Rumours In The Wind         Sisyphus Road, The         Two Men On A Bench

And For My Next Guest, Mr Leonardo Di CAprio

Synopsis:
A talk-show in front of the television audience( with certain inconceivable guests) begs the question of the part electronic and mass media plays in our lives

Notes:
Recorded billboards with fanfares At top Andf tail of the performance required plus one recorded voice-over

1st Produced:
HIFA (Harare International Festival of the Arts)    2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Satire One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  possible extras as studio crew

Further Reference:
-

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Angel

Synopsis:
In "Angel", the rage against loss of innocence is replaced dramatically by the recognition of real ugliness.The crossing of the waters in the play is a ritual moment, sacrificial, existential, it is no longer the blind action of the imbecile, the central protaganist, but rather a pursuit of justice where, in terms of the craft, it's like the pacifist first committing to armed struggle. Set in Steinbeck country, Angel is, of course, a play about the impossibilities of thwarted idealism and inexpressible love in betrayal and ultimately, the injustice of discrimination and alienation. The play is set in the death cell the night before Big Boy is executed for murder.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Gallery Delta, Harare    1997

Organisations:
Africa Dream Theatre

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Art Of Accidental Stains, The

Synopsis:
There is a myth about artists, painters, muscicians, that they function differently to most mortals. That they are driven by different or more extreme emotional demons, needs, passions. This can be true. Taking advantage of this profile, a painter on stage paints a living canvas of his muse, his life with a store dummy or mannequin functioning as his model to whom he addresses his story.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Mannenburg, Harare    2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Beast

Synopsis:
Loosely based on Kafka's "Address to the Academy", a caged beast exposes the prison of the human psyche with its own hidden monsters of fear, superstition and primitivism

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Tube, Harare    1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Daughter Of Darkness

Synopsis:
At first glance, this play seems to be about white alienation in black Africa , addressing the issue of the tortured psyche of a white minority living in a state of seige, but the underlying core is the reflection of the brutality that is possible as an outcome of any male-dominated society.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Africa Dream Theatre

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Easy Come, Easy Go

Synopsis:
A very physical theatre piece, a roller-coaster ride into the world of gambling addiction. The script requires the actor to exercise a range of vocal and bodily gymnastics in the giddy dance to its final conclusion.

Notes:
Has Also been performed by A female Actress in London And gender is not An issue that should limit the performer of this piece

1st Produced:
Gallery Delta, Harare    1997

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Killing Rats

Synopsis:
Killing Rats takes us into the disturbed and comically absurd maze of the world of rats where survival depends on how well you can know the enemy and how fast you can shoot. Essentially this play mirrors the sense that white Zimbabwean society does not belong in black Africa. The metaphor of rats that invade a society in decay reflects the psychological violation of suburban homes and the seizure of space to co-exist as a minority race. In fact, it expresses the intolerance that creates mutants and exiles of any colour or creed, at any time and anywhere.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre in the Park, HIFA    2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Legacy Of Stone, A

Synopsis:
This is not a post-modernist play about the beauty of "otherness" or the expression of dark forces; in many ways it is about an age-old male terror of witchcraft, where woman-as-victim exacts her revenge. A story of two damaged lives with the centrepiece of a gargoyle commissioned by the woman underlying the tension between both her and the stone mason who undertook the work.

Notes:
The play was used As resource material for An Acting masterclass At The De Marco European Arts Foundation in Edinburgh in 1998 culminating in its performance there

1st Produced:
Theatre Upstairs, Harare    1998

Organisations:
REPS Theatre

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama in 2 acts

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Man In The Cupboard, The

Synopsis:
Inside his wardrobe lie all his childhood memories, his past and his present. . . "his life experience, tensions about sexual predilictions, his relations with his mother are woven into a metaphor about a cupboard, for him the world, in which he is permanently locked, and unfolding into an awful tale of loneliness and revenge." Joy Hendry, The Scotsman. Edinburgh 1998

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre in the Park, Harare    1996

Organisations:
Rooftop

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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On Lonely Street

Synopsis:
A paraplegic man invites a coloured prostitute into his appartment in the hope of finding companionship, only to become a victim for revenge against all men

Notes:
First performed with A Belgian Actor And Sri-Lankan Actress in Zimbabwe, the play later became A resource play for A play-writing workshop in Windhoek, where it culminated in performance At The Warehouse with Namibian Actors.

1st Produced:
Theatre in the Park, HIFA    2000

Organisations:
Rooftop

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy in 2 scenes Comedy

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Question Of Alienation, A

Synopsis:
An alien borrows a body to explore the nature of the human condition

Notes:
1st Act - "He", 2nd Act - "She"

1st Produced:
Gallery Delta, Harare    1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Monologue in 2 Acts

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  1 m/f

Further Reference:
-

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Rumours In The Wind

Synopsis:
"Rumours in the Wind is poetry of the most limpid kind. The central character is never named because he represents the landscape and all the beasts (human included) that inhabit it. He is an arch-innocent, dubbed village idiot because he doesn's speak; the land, his ancestors, the gods, haven't yet told him what to say. He listens instead, and knows his terrain as few who speak can .He is also in love, and that love eventually provides a painful bridge which reunites him with his community. (Joy Hendry, Publisher Chapman Books for "The Scotsman")

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre in the Park, Harare    1996

Organisations:
Rooftop

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sisyphus Road, The

Synopsis:
A traveller on the move pauses long enough to tell his tale of Africa, from where he came and the stone sculpture that he carries with him.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Mannenburg, Harare    2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
monologue One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Two Men On A Bench

Synopsis:
A white hobo, a black tramp, a park bench in the municipal gardens. Because even a nobody needs to be somebody, some characters will go to any length to reclaim their missing dignity.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Theatre in the Park, Harare    1998

Organisations:
Rooftop

1st Published:
published in Africa Dream Theatre, Lulu.com,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy in 1 Act Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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