Book Description

Boy from Bethulie is a major theatrical autobiography, which is both funny and breathtakingly honest. Part history of mainstream South African theatre from the 1950s and part social documentary of the communities Mynhardt has played to--sophisticated audiences in ostentatious national theatres; rural audiences in tiny, ill-equipped and draughty halls in desolate platteland towns and villages; business executives in bomas in the bush--the book focuses a spotlight on the people and places intricately linked with the actor's life. Mynhardt is searingly honest, but the honesty is tempered with a self-deprecating humor that more often than not makes him the butt of his own jokes. In the words of the author, "My Boy from Bethulie began to take shape in theatre dressing rooms, in hotels, in pubs, and parties � These occasions were the scene of my impromptu raconteur performances, unplanned and quite unrehearsed, given the spontaneity of immediate recollection." Mynhardt's storytelling skills that turned his childhood memories into the extraordinarily successful show Boy from Bethuli, translate easily onto the page and cover all aspects of his life. But most of all, the book reveals the many parts of the man who has come to be known as South Africa's Laurence Olivier. "Boy from Bethulie's first half is a rich evocation of a period and of a wry, humane sensibility � Myrnhardt includes others in his pleasure of recollection." --Robert Greig, Business Day "Wherever Patrick went and whatever he said or did, Bethulie followed him with interest and admiration." --Rums van Rensburg, Mayor of Bethulie