Stellenbosch University complex to be named after Adam Small
THE refurbished theatre complex of Stellenbosch University (SU) will be named after award-winning poet and playwright Adam Small.
The drama department proposed and motivated the naming after a considered and inclusive process.
The executive committee of the SU Council, which approves the names of buildings in accordance with the applicable SU policy, recently accepted the name at the recommendation of the Rectorate and the SU Committee for the Naming of Buildings, Venues and other Facilities/Premises.
Small’s widow, Dr Rosalie Small, has already given her approval for the naming of the complex after her late husband.
“Stellenbosch University is grateful and proud to be associated with the rich legacy of Adam Small. We would like to see the vision of human dignity and healing justice to which he as an academic and playwright was committed realised,” said Professor Wim de Villiers, SU rector and vice-chancellor.
Professor Nico Koopman, cice-rector: transformation, social impact and personnel said Small used his academic pursuit, and specifically his many works in Afrikaans. as instruments of transformation.
“During apartheid, he helped us to move away from apartheid towards a democratic society, and now his legacy helps us to put his democratic vision of human dignity into practice.”
The Hertzog Prize for Drama of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns was awarded to Small in 2012 for his entire oeuvre, and specifically for Kanna, Hy Kô Huistoe (1965). “The name was tabled in initial discussions about a name change at the end of 2017 already. In 2015 SU awarded Small, who is regarded as a role model, an honorary doctorate. His commitment to Afrikaans and his contribution to specifically Kaapse Afrikaans (Cape Afrikaans) as poet and playwright served as further motivation for the proposal,” said Dr Mareli Pretorius, incoming chairperson of the drama department at SU.
The large auditorium in the theatre complex is currently known as the HB Thom Theatre, and although this name will no longer be used, it will be contextualised in the building. Before the refurbishment, the theatre consisted exclusively of a single auditorium, but the creative space now includes a seminar room and a smaller laboratory theatre.
The Adam Small Theatre complex thus refers to the multifunctional facility as a whole.
The newly expanded, large auditorium offers a mechanised system to lift even heavy decor pieces during shows, modern lighting that is fully LED-functional and sound system that all comply with international standards. In the auditorium with its 324 seats, the layout is ideally suited to provide the audience with a superb visual experience.