Diving deep into trauma: Beer Adriaanse unpacks his gripping role in 'Niggies'

IOL News

27-05-2025

Beer Adriaanse as Andre in the riveting Afrikaans drama, 'Niggies'.
Image: Supplied
Beer Adriaanse, one of the 'Niggies' lead stars, has been celebrating some major milestones recently.
This week marks the 40th birthday of the Silwerskerm winner, a celebration that coincides with the conclusion of the debut season of the captivating kykNET series. The show has garnered a nationwide following since its premiere in March.
The inaugural season of the Afrikaans show, which sees Adriaanse play Andre, a man who goes to extraordinary lengths as he seeks vengeance over the kidnapping and murder of his younger brother (portrayed by Janru Steenkamp), dropped its final episode on Tuesday, May 20.
And while the actor has been earning legions of fans for his work on productions such as "Hotel" and 'Fynskrif', what makes this role even more special for him is that it's his first foray out of comedy.
Beer Adriaanse in a scene from 'Niggies'.
Image: Supplied
'I've mostly been in comedy projects or at least portrayed characters that lean towards comic relief, so this was virgin territory for me,' he admitted during an interview with 'Independent Media Lifestyle.'
'Niggies' is inspired by the harrowing case of cousins Issie Fourie and Petro Nel who were raped and shot dead in 1966 in an abandoned mine building outside Odendaalsrus in the Free State. This was after they disappeared after leaving to swim at the municipal pool.
The series is directed by South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas) winner Jaco Bouwer, and the rest of the cast includes Carel Nel, Jacques Bessenger, Erica Wessels, Tinarie van Wyk Loots, Jane de Wet and Albert Pretorius.
Apart from 'being moved' by the story, Adriaanse admitted that it was also the show's stars which drew him to this production.
'The cast are some of my favourite actors in the world, and I could feel that everyone on the team felt like we were trying to make something meaningful, which is usually what tips me over into joining a project.'
As he attempted to step out of his comedy comfort zone, Adriaanse said that he understood the responsibility which came with such a role, due to the dark and sensitive themes which it explores.
'I've never been this deep into a true story and underestimated the weight and responsibility that brings to the process. I've also never had to play a father and found the young talent, and playing off of them, very refreshing. To see them grapple with the themes, just like I was, was very moving.'
He was also excited to flex his acting muscles and slip into the skin of a character from previous decades.
'To be honest, the chance to play in the 60's was also an opportunity that doesn't come along often - it being very' expensive to recreate prior eras in South Africa " - so that also sweetened the deal.
He added that other themes which drew him to 'Niggies' was 'the concept of the communal and familial confrontation of major trauma and how its end reverberates through time.'
'It's such a universal theme, especially in South Africa, where violence is always so palpable and near.'
Adriaanse described his character as 'the worst example of youth interrupted.'
'Andre embodies the jovial boy he was, who would've grown into the much-loved life of the party but who must now struggle through not only the shame of that day but also the traumas of his country's violent nature as a policeman.'
Beer Adriaanse in 'Niggies'.
Image: Supplied.
On the similarities and differences he shares with his character, he explained: 'From reading the texts and especially the 16-year-old Andre's storyline, I immediately understood his shame, that feeling of having disappointed someone, or even worse, having ruined their lives and not knowing how to fix it.'
'We're similar in that if something like this had to happen to me, I would've also not been able to let it go.
"Like Andre, I also prefer to acknowledge the darkness in the world. It helps me to know it's there, but unlike him, I then actively seek out the light and choose to confide in other people, while he keeps it all in until it explodes.'
He also believes that 'Niggies' has been such a hit because people from all walks of life are able to relate to it.
'I think that most people in South Africa carry so much more trauma than we think, that almost everybody can relate to Andre.'
'Even if you haven't felt violence yourself, you at least know someone who has. My best guess is that people see their own struggles mirrored in his desperate juggling act between holding it together or diving headfirst into the abyss.'