Twee digters op die podium. Performatiwiteit in die oeuvres van Antjie Krog en Tom Lanoye

Abstract

Antjie Krog and Tom Lanoye’s combined stage tour in Flanders, the Netherlands and South Africa in October/November 2006 was a continuation of earlier instances of collaboration between the two artists, and certainly strengthened the association between Krog and Lanoye in the public imagination. In this article, an attempt is made to locate performativity in the works of Krog and Lanoye not primarily in their stage appearances as so-called performance poets, but rather in a metaphorical sense. Performance is shown to be something that is present on a textual level in the oeuvres of both authors, and it is this common phenomenon that makes for a stimulating comparison. Krog and Lanoye emerge as inescapable figures who continually take the stage in a figurative sense, while their works also perform largely due to the contexts in which they are situated and with which they actively engage.