South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, known for works such as “Sizwe Bansi Is Dead,” “The Island,” and the novel “Tsotsi,” has passed away at the age of 92. Fugard was a significant political dissident playwright during the 20th century, writing more than 30 dramas, including “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act” (1972) and “‘Master Harold’ … and the Boys” (1982). These plays reflected upon his experiences in the 1950s when he could only find employment as a clerk in courts for black South Africans charged with breaches of “pass laws,” which aimed to control the movements of a racially segregated population under apartheid. He witnessed the dehumanization of people who chose the “wrong” streets or interacted with the “wrong” individuals.
Fugard’s cultural and political impact was rivaled by Václav Havel, who faced jail and eventually became the first president of the Czech Republic. Despite setting up theater companies in segregated black townships and refusing to perform for “whites only” audiences, Fugard avoided prison due to his white privilege. The worst personal persecutions he faced were the removal of his passport and occasional banning of plays and book burnings. However, he was always aware of benefiting from the immoral hierarchy his writing criticized.
Fugard’s plays after apartheid reflected the country’s “truth and reconciliation” phase, addressing issues of attempted restorative justice. His late works, such as “The Train Driver” (2010) and “Sorrows And Rejoicing” (2001), continued to explore the ongoing inequalities experienced by people of color. The 2021 revival of “Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act” at the Orange Tree theater in Richmond remained relevant as a metaphor for contemporary inequalities.
Fugard’s novel “Tsotsi” was adapted into an Oscar-winning 2005 film directed by Gavin Hood. Despite acknowledging that others, like John Kani and Winston Ntshona, were the theatrical Mandelas of free South Africa, Fugard recognized himself as an impotent white liberal, embodying the arendtian notion that good people must act against evil.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/mar/09/athol-fugard-south-african-political-dissident-playwright-dies-aged-92
