Marita van der Vyver’s ‘Die dinge van ‘n kind’ becomes a TV series

A new 10-episode drama series which is based on the beloved book and stage production by award-winning author, Marita van der Vyver, is set to kick off on 10 May.

The series revolves around Mart Vermaak and the trials and tribulations she faces during the disillusionment of coming of age, and is set against the political upheavals of the late 1970s. But, an older Mart finds herself in a different kind of predicament.

In the novel, which was published in 1994, readers meet Mart as a teenager, but also as an expat in her 30s, living in London. The television series will, however, also show Mart as an older woman who returned to South Africa permanently.

“My books have been made into plays and movies before, but this is the first time one of my novels has been turned into a TV series,” says Marita van der Vyver. “I’m as excited about it as any first time can make even an old writer like me feel.”

She says that she is excited to share her story with a wider audience.

“Almost 30 years after Die dinge van ’n kind (Childish Things) was published, it has become the things of all of us. That brings me joy.”

The novel has been translated into English, Dutch and German and has seen two print runs of the first hardcover edition, three reprints of the paperback edition between 2005 and 2011 and even a new paperback edition in 2016.

The book was adapted into an eponymous play by playwright Harry Kalmer in the 90s, specifically for the KKNK arts festival and the novel was also staged as a one-woman show in 2019 with Cintaine Schutte playing Mart. The script for the latter was written by Francois Toerien and Alexa Strachen was the producer.

READ: Six feature films to watch at this year’s Silwerskerm Festival

Themes that run though the book and the stage adaptations are also the themes that form the backbone of the exciting new television series.

Schutte told LitNet that “although Die dinge van ’n kind is set in the 1970s, it is still relevant. It captures timeless struggles with being a teenager, hormones, growing up and friendship. I think the biggest question everyone asks themselves is a question central to the book and its stage adaption: ‘Who am I, and where do I belong.’”

Although Schutte did not grow up in the 1970s (she was still a child in the 1990s), reading the book made her realise that it doesn’t matter whether you were a teenager in the 70s or whether you are a teenager in 2085 – “you are going to go through the same stuff.”

Mart will be portrayed by three different actors in various stages of her life on the television series: Melissa Myburg, Cintaine Schutte and Susanne Beyers. The cast also includes Jana Kruger, André Weideman, Andahr Cotton, Deànré Reiners, Wilhelm van der Walt, Quanita Adams, Zenoia Kloppers and Ludwig Binge. Mienke Ehlers and Augusta Zietsman also landed their first major television roles with this series, with Mienke playing the rebel, Daleen and Augusta starring as Suna.

The series is produced by Nagvlug Films (Wonderlus, Skemerdans, Nêrens, Noord-Kaap) with Elaine Rupping and Henriëtta Gryffenberg as scriptwriters.

The Dinge van ’n kind series debuts on Tuesday, 10 May at 20:00 on kykNET (DStv channel 144).