By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The South African playwright and director Athol Fugard, whose works included the plays Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island has died at the age of 92 at his Stellenbosch home after a long illness.
Fullview learnt that esteemed playwright, novelist, actor, and director died on Saturday.
“It is a very sad day for South Africa. Athol Fugard was one of the country’s greatest playwrights, who managed to capture everyday stories of people in our country in every play,” Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sports MEC Ricardo Mackenzie said.
“He had a unique way of turning the pain of the past into a story of hope for the future. His contribution to the arts is immeasurable.”
Among Fugard’s greatest works is his 1980 novel Tsotsi, which was later adapted into an Oscar-winning film of the same name, starring Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Rapulana Seiphemo, and Nambitha Mpumlwana, among others.
Similarly, Premier Alan Winde noted, “His penetrating, sharp wit has left an indelible mark on our shared cultural heritage, and his acute understanding of our country’s political and cultural make up is unmatched. He will be sorely missed.”
The provincial government has extended its condolences to Fugard’s wife, Paula, along with his family and friends.
Born in 1932, Fugard was the only child of Harold, from an immigrant family of Irish descent, and Elizabeth, whose Potgieter clan were among the early Afrikaans settlers of Dutch stock. A jazz pianist turned shopkeeper, Harold moved his family in 1935 to Port Elizabeth, an urban industrial town that remained Fugard’s main home and most regular dramatic setting for the next nine decades.
Fugard wrote more than 30 plays over seven decades, his most important in the darkest days of apartheid, touching on the raw themes of the regime that ended in 1994.
He was acclaimed at home and abroad for plays that exposed the injustices of the apartheid system and challenged its racist taboos, including by putting black and white actors on stage together.
Renowned actor John Kani, who starred in several of Fugard’s plays, added his voice to the growing number of tributes while in the United States.
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend, Athol Fugard. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he wrote in a post on X.
Fugard received the order of Ikhamanga (Silver) in 2004 and in 2010, the Fugard Theatre, named after him, was opened in Cape Town’s District Six.