Erika von Wietersheim/Dan Farrelly

"And our South African Iphigenie is Nelson Mandela.
He helped South Africans to forgive and reconcile."

"Iphigenie erinnert mich an eine afrikanische Heilerin, sie hat Zugang zu spirituellen Kräften."

"Iphigenie hat mir gezeigt, dass auch bei Goethe uBuntu zu finden ist...Deshalb kann Iphigenie auch eine Afrikanerin sein."

"Our ancestors are also inside not ouside of us, just as Goethe made the gods speak inside Iphigenie."

This book is centred on issues raised in Under the Curse, Dan Farrelly's English version of Goethe's famous play, Iphigenie auf Tauris. The Goethe Institute in Johannesburg used the text as a basis for discussing women's issues in modern South African, such as: the role of women in South African family and public life; the force of women's spirituality; their experience of personal relationships; their attitudes to parents and ancestors; their involvement with religion.

The book also deals with the important African concept of "uBuntu", the idea of humanity, which has played a central role in the generous process of black African reconciliation with those who operated or benefitted by the oppressive white apartheid regime.

Two seminars were held, in February and August 2001, moderated by Erika von Wietersheim, an eminent journalist based in Namibia. The participants were the group of performers, black and white South Africans, belonging to the dance-theatrre company of Robyn Orlin.

The discussions were seen as part of an exploration of Goethe's Iphigenie with a view to mounting an innovative production by Robyn Orlin's company, to be staged in 2002 in Berlin at the Maxim Gorki theatre and at the Montpellier Theatre Festival; and in 2003 in Johannesburg. The text is printed in English (left-hand page) and German (right-hand page).