TCC’s first Afrikaans Shakespeare translations are now available

CN&CO has a long-standing relationship with the team at the Tsikinya-Chaka Centre (TCC), a research unit at Wits University that translates Shakespeare’s plays into African Languages.

The TCC Press has launched the first in its series of Afrikaans Shakespeare translations by Deryck Uys – made possible by its partnership with Legacy Underwriting Managers.

Legacy is widely admired for its investment in South African artists, and has a strong record as both an arts benefactor and as a sponsor of innovative projects. Legacy’s generous support enabled the establishment of the TCC in the School of Literature, Language and Media at Wits University in 2021.

In particular, the partnership between Legacy and the TCC has yielded numerous projects relating to the translation of Shakespeare into Afrikaans, among other South African languages.

One of these is the publication by TCC Press of Deryck Uys’ Shakespeare translations. Uys has achieved the remarkable feat of translating all of Shakespeare’s works into Afrikaans, but until now these have remained unpublished. Last year, the TCC announced that it would publish a series of Uys’s translations; the first title, Koning Richard, is appearing in December 2022. This will be followed early in 2023 by Macbeth, Koning Lear and Romeo en Juliet.

These titles can now be ordered in print and e-book format through the TCC Press store.

As Legacy founder and executive chair Cobus du Plessis affirms, “The publication of the first Uys text, with more to follow in the coming months, brings to fruition a vision to leave a lasting legacy – building on the history of Shakespeare translations into Afrikaans and making it accessible to all!”

CEO Christo Crafford adds: “We are excited about Legacy’s involvement with and support of the Tsikinya-Chaka Centre, and while this will build resources for theatre makers, educators and students, we also look forward to how we can share it with our broker partners and their clients.”

CN&CO’s Carel Nolte believes partnerships between business and arts organisations benefit both.

“I am passionate about insurance and the arts, and so to see Legacy and TCC partnering for the promotion of the arts in South Africa, it makes my heart glad.

“It’s especially gratifying to see the TCC taking shape so brilliantly and starting to produce some really meaningful work – work that promotes not only Shakespeare, but also social cohesion in our country.”

Read more about Deryck Uys and the TCC Press series here.