Minister Gayton McKenzie on passing of global great Athol Fugard

It is with great sadness that the Minister of Sport, Arts, and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, extends his heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and the local and worldwide community of fans of legendary playwright, author and anti-apartheid activist Athol Fugard.

“South Africa has lost one of its greatest literary and theatrical icons, whose work shaped the cultural and social landscape of our nation. In a world divided by race, Fugard nurtured the careers of acting legends like Dr John Kani and Winston Ntshona, and was one of the founding fathers of the Market Theatre, which is today owned by government through the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture,” said the Minister.

The Minister added: “He sacrificed so many of his privileges to tell the story of South African pain under apartheid with honesty and bravery.”

Born Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard on 11 June 1932 in Middelburg, Eastern Cape, Fugard grew up in Port Elizabeth. Of Huguenot and Irish descent, he began his career as a freelance writer for the Evening Post before joining the SABC as a reporter.

Initially drawn to acting, Fugard soon discovered his passion for writing and theatre. His first theatrical work, The Rehearsal Room, boldly rejected the segregationist policies of the time, featuring a multiracial cast at a time when apartheid laws sought to divide South Africans. This defiant stance led to many of his works being censored and banned by the government.

In 1958, he produced No Good Friday, starring alongside the esteemed Zakes Mokae, followed by Nongogo (Prostitute) in 1959. Returning to Port Elizabeth in the 1960s, he collaborated with The Serpent Players, an innovative theatre group that performed in unconventional spaces, including an abandoned zoo snake pit. It was with this group that he wrote The Blood Knot (1961), his first internationally acclaimed play.

By the mid-1960s, Fugard had pioneered a workshop-style approach to playwriting, co-creating some of South Africa’s most powerful theatrical works, including The Coat (1966), Sizwe Banzi is Dead (1972), and The Island (1973). His 1969 play Boesman and Lena, in which he performed alongside Yvonne Bryceland, was a direct challenge to the apartheid regime, resulting in the revocation of his passport. However, when restrictions were later eased, he travelled to England to direct the play.

Tsotsi, his only novel, was published in 1980 but written some time earlier, was the basis of the 2005 film of the same name, which won an Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

Throughout the 1980s, Fugard’s influence expanded internationally, with his works widely studied and performed in Europe and the United States. His 1980 play, A Lesson from Aloes, won the prestigious New York Critics Circle Award. During this time, he also collaborated with John Kani and Winston Ntshona on The Statement Plays and portrayed Jan Smuts in the acclaimed film Gandhi (1982). His most renowned play, Master Harold ... and the Boys (1982), remains one of the greatest works of the 20th century, earning multiple international awards, including the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play.

After more than a decade without a South African premiere, Fugard’s My Children! My Africa! (1989) marked his return to the country’s theatre scene. In the 1990s, he continued producing thought-provoking works such as Playland (1992) and My Life (1994), which addressed South Africa’s transition to democracy. His later works included The Captain’s Tiger (1999) and Sorrows and Rejoicings (2001). In 2012, he embraced Afrikaans theatre, co-writing Die Laaste Karretjiegraf (2013), and saw many of his works translated into various languages, including Spanish.

He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2001 and received South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver in 2005 for his outstanding contributions to theatre. His legacy was further cemented with the opening of The Fugard Theatre in Cape Town in 2010, a venue dedicated to producing and hosting world-class performances.

Throughout his lifetime, Fugard received numerous accolades, including multiple Tony Awards, the Fleur du Cap Lifetime Achievement Award (2000), and the South African Vita Award for Lifetime Achievement (1998). He was a fellow of the British Royal Society of Literature and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

"Athol Fugard was 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," said Minister McKenzie.

“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.”

The Minister added that Fugard’s death should be used as an opportunity for all South Africans to be reminded of his enormous contribution through the arts, to reflect on the insights, tragedy, humanity and tenderness of his works, and to be united in the call to keep building a better, more cohesive country in freedom together.

For media enquiries:

Ms. Stacey-Lee Khojane, Spokesperson: Office of the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
Email: StaceyK@dsac.gov.za 
Cell: +27 77 608 7579

Ms Zimasa Velaphi, Head of Communication and Marketing: Department of Sport, Arts and Culture
Email: ZimasaV@dsac.gov.za 
Cell: +27 72 172 8925

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