Athol Fugard: The Playwright who challenged apartheid through art

As tributes pour in for Athol Fugard, the esteemed South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who passed away on Sunday at the age of 92, his significant contributions to the arts in the struggle against apartheid are being celebrated.

Over an illustrious 70-year career, Fugard became renowned for his ability to awaken the consciences of international audiences in support of the anti-apartheid struggle, crafting more than 30 plays that boldly challenged the status quo. His debut theatrical work, The Rehearsal Room,  rejected the segregationist policies of the time, featuring a multi-racial cast at a moment when apartheid laws sought to divide South Africans.

The Eastern Cape-born legend initially dived into acting but later found a passion for writing and theatre.

He moved to Johannesburg in 1958, and worked as a clerk in the Native Commissioners’ Court, where he became “keenly aware of the injustices of apartheid”. His good friendship with prominent local anti-apartheid figures had a profound influence on him.  

In 1958, he produced No Good Friday, starring alongside Zakes Mokae, followed by Nongogo (Prostitute) in 1959. Some of his popular plays include The Blood Knot, The Coat, Sizwe Banzi is Dead, and The Island.

Several of his plays were adapted into films, including ‘Boesman and Lena’, ‘Master Harold and the Boys’, ‘Tsotsi’ and ‘The Road to Mecca’. He performed the role of General Jan Smuts in Richard Attenborough’s film, ‘Gandhi’.

Those who had the opportunity to work closely with Fugard described him as determined, focused, open, kind, generous and unmatchable. 

Daniel Galloway, who was managing director of The Fugard Theatre - bearing the name of the late legend between 2010 and 2020 - said Fugard was a gentle, considerate professional who took the time to make everyone he ever worked with feel seen and valued. 

“This had a major impact on how I shaped my own career in the theatre. Athol was deeply supportive of the work we undertook at the beautiful theatre in Cape Town that bore his name. He was always first to call to commiserate or congratulate. He was sincerely present and available and always ready to listen,” Galloway said.

He added that Fugard’s kindness, fierce determination to create the best theatre offerings he could and his unwavering human-centric approach to life made the most significant impact.

“He treated people from all walks of life with remarkable humility. He assumed nothing and took the time to find out if he needed to. Athol approached life and all those he met along the way with gentleness and kindness,” Galloway said. 

He added that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 forced the closure of The Fugard Theatre. The theatre later re-opened as The Homecoming Centre.

Dr John Kani, legendary playwright, director, actor and long-term friend of Fugard said they (Fugard and Winston Ntshona) worked together through the very difficult times of the 1960s, creating and performing in plays that examined the conditions under which Black people lived during Apartheid. 

He said this immediately attracted the interest of the notorious Apartheid Security Police who hounded the group’s every performance and even extended to “our” private lives. “However, through all these difficult times Athol stayed with us.”

During this period of state intrusion and draconian measures, Fugard returned to Port Elizabeth, and collaborated with The Serpent Players, an innovative theatre group that performed in unconventional spaces, including an abandoned zoo snake pit.

Kani said: “Athol was my brother and my Comrade in the struggle for the liberation of our country – and my friend for life. No one can tell the story of protest theatre without mentioning the names of Athol Fugard, Winston Ntshona and myself.

“Now, with their deaths, I must accept that my two beautiful friends, Winston and Athol, are gone. Now I feel so alone. My only comfort are the memories of these two giants of the South African theatre and the struggle for a better life for all."

 Kani said Fugard believed in him and his anger and 'I believed in him and his cool temperament and that the use of words is a more powerful weapon of change'.

"I will miss him very much.” 

Kani said that in 1972 he, Winston and Fugard created 'Sizwe Banzi Is Dead' and in 1973 together, they created 'The Island'.

"As they say the rest is history."

Fugard's wife Paula Fourie, described his death as unreal.

“He’s had a lot of health setbacks over the almost 10 years that we’ve been married. It will be 10 years next year. Before that, we’ve always bounced back in the most remarkable way, and I think it was so unreal for me, and maybe I never quite accepted that there would be anything that could best him.

“His huge heart will live on in other ways in the world.”

Fourie said Fugard is survived by her, his two-month-old son, his two-year-old daughter, his daughter from a previous marriage and his grandson.

Award-winning film producer Anant Singh expressed sadness about the death of Fugard.

“I was inspired by Athol when I started out in the film industry in the 1980s, as he was a role model through his work in protest theatre. As a long-time admirer of his, I was thrilled to collaborate with him on the film adaptation of ‘The Road to Mecca’, in which he also starred alongside Yvonne Bryceland and Academy Award winner, Kathy Bates,” Singh said.

He added that Fugard’s passing leaves a huge void in the South African theatre landscape, but he leaves a rich legacy of thought-provoking works for generations to come.

"South Africa has truly lost a national treasure."

Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie described Fugard as a fearless storyteller who laid bare the harsh realities of apartheid through his plays, giving a voice to those silenced by oppression. 

“His impact on South African theatre and the global stage is immeasurable, and his legacy will continue to resonate for generations. We were cursed with apartheid but blessed with great artists who shone a light on its impact and helped to guide us out of it. We owe a huge debt to this late, wonderful man,” McKenzie said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa lauded Fugard as 'an extraordinary storyteller in extraordinary times, and the moral conscience of a generation'.

“Beyond the impressive body of work that he has left behind, Athol Fugard will be remembered for being an outlier amongst the millions of white South Africans who blithely turned a blind eye to the injustices being perpetrated in their name,” Ramaphosa said.

Fugard received the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver in 2005 for his outstanding contributions to theatre.

Cape Argus