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Celebration of the Life and Work
of Athol Fugard in London, UK. A Lesson from Aloes staged reading in
Los Angeles, USA. The Train Driver in the UK.
An Island reading in the USA. The Road to Mecca in Canada.
A thesis on Blood Knot available online.
Please pass on details of any performances
etc click here.
Last update 25 April 2025.
A Lesson from Aloes staged reading in Los Angeles, USA
The Fountain Theatre presents a staged reading of Athol
Fugard's A Lesson from Aloes on 29 April 2025.
The director is Elizabeth Swain and dramaturgy is by Tara Moore. The reading
features artists from Antaeus Theatre Company- Tony Amendola, Gregg Daniel
and Lily Knight.
The reading will be followed by a discussion of Athol’s legacy.
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Celebration
of the Life and Work of Athol Fugard in London, UK
The Royal Court Theatre present a Celebration of the Life
and Work of Athol Fugard on 11 May 2025.
"The Royal Court’s relationship with Fugard began over half a
century ago, in the early 1970s, when the theatre proudly presented the
international premieres of his groundbreaking anti-apartheid plays —
Boesman and Lena (1971), Sizwe Banzi is Dead (1973), The Island (1973),
and Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act (1974). Sizwe
Banzi and The Island later transferred to Broadway, where co-creators and
performers John Kani OBE and Winston Ntshona were awarded Best Actor Tony
Awards".
The event is hosted by David Byrne, Artistic Director of
the Royal Court, and curated by Greg Karvellas, former Artistic Director
of The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town (2010–2021). The celebration will
feature John Kani, Janet Suzman, and others on stage, with reflections,
live performance extracts, and recorded excerpts from Athol Fugard
himself.
Tickets include a post-show toast with a glass of
South African wine and- for meat-eaters- biltong, two of Athol’s
favourites.
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on Athol Fugard click here.
Athol Fugard passes away
Sadly Athol Fugard has died aged 92. He passed
away
in his Stellenbosch home near Cape Town of cardiac arrest after a long illness.
Some tributes:
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"Fugard defined the essence of what he called "pure theater"
as nothing more "than the actor and the stage, the actor in space
and silence." As an artist he resisted labels, but he conceded
that if his work is to be categorized "then it must be as 'actors'
theatre.' Humanity was always at the core of Fugard's art" (Mark
Kennedy and Gerald Imray, LA Times, 10 March 2025, click
here).
"Fugard brought critical, wrenching portrayals of South
African society under apartheid to international stages, including
Broadway, helping to generate the wave of worldwide criticism that
eventually led to the end of that policy in the country, in the
process gaining wider access for South African dramaturgy outside
that nation" (Carmel Dagan, Variety, 10 March 2025, click
here).
"His longtime friend and collaborator John Kani
mourned: 'I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend
Athol Fugard. May his soul rest in eternal peace'" (iAfrica, 9
March 2025, click
here).
"Now he is dead, and a writer of true integrity
has gone. He loved the actor who had played Miss Helen in Mecca,
the great Yvonne Bryceland – his muse. He loved women; he wrote
about the feral stoicism and optimism of the female animal with a
warmth quite unusual in a writer – maybe excepting Ibsen. He
understood fatalism, and loneliness, and had the ear of a poet for
ordinary folk" (Janet Suzman, The Guardian, 9 Mar 2025, click
here).
"The South African government confirmed Fugard's death and
said the country 'has lost one of its greatest literary and
theatrical icons, whose work shaped the cultural and social
landscape of our nation'" (Mark Kennedy and Gerald Imray, The
Independent, 10 March 2025, click
here).
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The Island reading in Virginia, USA
Metrostage Theatre present
a Tribute to Athol Fugard with a reading of The Island. It is on 16
April 2025. The performers are Doug Brown and Bill Grimmette.
"Since Mr. Fugard died this past February, MetroStage is honored
to pay tribute to his body of work and present a reading of this
extraordinary play. By depicting the labor required of the political
prisoners, their bond, and their commitment to telling the classic story
of “Antigone” for their fellow prisoners, Fugard has created a dramatic,
and historic masterpiece. As MetroStage director Thomas W. Jones II
described in a 2015 interview, the play depicts “themes of solidarity,
endurance, perseverance (that) are timeless”, and a “celebration of human
dignity and freedom in the face of insurmountable oppression".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
The Train Driver in London, UK
Park Theatre present
The Train Driver from 14 Jan- 7 Feb 2026.
The director is Jimmy Walters and the play is presented by Proud
Haddock and Sarah Lawrie in association with Park Theatre.
"December 2000, Cape Flats, South Africa. A woman steps in
front of a train with her baby on the railway tracks between Philippi and
Nyanga.
Two months later Roelf, the train driver, has spent weeks
searching for the identities of the victims. After a fruitless journey
through shanty towns, he encounters an old gravedigger named Simon who
helps the desperate man unburden his conscience. Based on a true story,
The Train Driver is a soulful exploration of guilt, suffering, racial
intolerance and the powerful bonds that grow between strangers".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Camino a la Meca (The Road to Mecca) in Alicante, Spain
Teatro Principal de Alicante present
Camino a la Meca (The Road to Mecca)
from 2- 3 May 2025.
Dirección: Claudio Tolcachir, elenco: Lola Herrera, Natalia
Dicenta, Carlos Olalla.
"El camino a la Meca, de Athol Fugard, se inspira en una
mujer real, Helen Martins, que se rebeló contra todos los estamentos de su
época. Un ser que persigue el deseo, la luz de la inspiración que no
corresponde a ninguna edad ni a ninguna generación. Alguien que prefiere
las preguntas a las certezas, que valora su libertad y su autonomía
enfrentando a su tiempo y al mundo que la rodea. Al leerla escuche la voz
de Lola latiendo en cada texto. Sin trascendencias flota en el aire las
ganas de vivir con libertad y de hacerlo intensamente. Deseábamos
conformar un elenco con el que el viaje fuera enriquecedor y placentero,
porque todos sentimos que esta será una experiencia del todo
transformadora. Honrado y entusiasmado por este nuevo proyecto que creo
que va a quedar en la mente y en los corazones de los que lo hacemos y en
cada uno de los espectadores que nos acompañen".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Blood Knot thesis
A thesis "The
evolution of Athol Fugard's The blood knot" is now available online at the
website of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The MA thesis is
by Kim Lauren McKay from 1987.
"The published
script from the 1960's was not to be the last for The Blood Knot, however,
and in the 1980's Fugard turned his attention again to this play. This
new, shorter version succeeds without the early poetic stance and natural
imagery; it relies instead on a more
forceful tone and a more clearly
political message, both of which comment on the artist and his world ".
You can read the
thesis on the Lehigh Preserve website
here.
Encyclopedia Britannica Web's Best Site
Encyclopædia Britannica
has listed this site as the Web's best site on Athol Fugard. Thanks-
click on the image for the encyclopædia.
Too late- see what you missed!!
The Road to Mecca in Kingston, Canada
Domino
Theatre present The Road to Mecca
from 1 January- 1 February 2025. The Director is Gord Love.
"This unusual drama focuses on Miss Helen, an old Boer woman
who lives alone in the South African boondocks, where she creates odd
concrete sculptures, which she calls her Mecca. A young woman who was once
helped by Miss Helen has travelled hundreds of miles to help her in a time
of crisis. Miss Helen is in danger of being sent to an old folks' home by
a narrow-minded minister, who considers her sculptures a public nuisance.
A penetrating study of the role of the artist in any society".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Sindu Kirilli 2 (Coming Home), India
CANCELLED but now ONLINE
Red Wings Theatre Group present Sindu Kirilli
2 (Coming Home) on 6 February 2025 as part of Bharat Rang Mahotsav
2025.
The director is Buddhika Damayantha and the cast include
Ferni Roshinie as Veronica and Chandrasoma Binduhewa.
For more on the play click
here.
The performance is cancelled but you
can watch the production
here.
My Children My Africa in Connecticut, USA
The Eastbound Theatre in Milford, Connecticut present My
Children, My Africa
from 31 January- 15 February 2025.
The Director is Noelle Fair. The cast are Herman
Livingston (Mr. M), Matt Simmons (Thami Mbikwana) and Sabrina Lingenfelter
(Isabel Dyson).
"Generational conflict over the most effective means for
ending apartheid in South Africa lead to an explosive confrontation
between a gifted but impatient black township youth and his devoted but
“old fashioned” black teacher … The unexpected involvement of a young
white woman who befriends and learns from both men strips away the
political trappings to reveal the human trauma at the heart of South
Africa’s … tragedy".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Master Harold... and the Boys in Westchester County, USA
The Schoolhouse Theatre present Master Harold...and the Boys
from 6- 22 September 2024.
The Director is Owen Thompson and the cast are Will DeVary,
Devin E. Haqq and Alvin Keith.
"Originally produced in 1982, 'Master Harold and the Boys' is now
an acknowledged classic of the stage, whose themes of injustice, racism,
friendship, and reconciliation traverse borders and time".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Master Harold... and the Boys in Idaho, USA
Idaho Repertory Theatre present Master Harold...and the Boys
from 5- 14 July 2024.
The play is directed by Baron Kelly.
"Fugard's searing coming-of-age story, loosely based on
his own experience in South Africa, concerns the changing relationship
between a white teen and the two Black men who work as waiters in his
mother’s tea room".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
ЭТО МОЯ ЖИЗНЬ - People are Living There (This is my Life) in Moscow
ЭТО МОЯ ЖИЗНЬ (This is my Life), an adaptation of
Athol Fugard's
People are Living There is performed at the
Sovremennik Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Performances in Russian are
from 31 March- 27 May 2024.
The director is Gulnaz Balpeisova and the actors are Alyona
Babenko, Ivan Stebunov, Efim Belosorochka and Marta Khovanskaya.
For the Theater website click
here.
For more on People are Living There click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
Valley Song in NY, USA
The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York present Valley
Song
from 15- 24 November 2024. It is at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, NY.
The Director is Jean-Remy Monnay.
"This is the moving story of an old man’s love for his
dutiful grandchild. Buks’ Jonkers is a poor yet dignified war veteran who
is devoted to his vegetable furrows in a remote South African province. He
is anxious to shield his dreamy, restless sixteen year old granddaughter
from temptations beyond the valley. She is equally anxious to be a singer
in faraway Johannesburg. Her self made songs brim with the longings of
youth. Valley Song is a coming-of-age story about a young girl
seeking the courage to embrace the future while her grandfather searches
for the wisdom to let go of the past".
For the theatre website click
here.
For more on the play click
here.
The Island in South Africa
The Island will be presented at
St Stephens Hall, Gqeberha from 24-26 October 2024.
The director is Xabiso Zweni and the cast includes Fiks
Mahola.
"This powerful production tells a
compelling story of freedom, resistance, and human dignity, set against
the backdrop of apartheid South Africa".
For more on the play click
here.
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