Background
Fugard, Athol Harold was born on June 11, 1932 in Middleburg, Republic of South Africa. Son of Harold David and Elizabeth Magdalene (Potgieter) Fugard.
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novel
play
The Shadow of the Hummingbird - Kindle edition by Athol Fugard, Paula Fourie. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
("The greatest active playwright in the English-speaking w...)
"The greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world."—Time "If there is a more urgent and indispensable playwright in world theater than South Africa's Athol Fugard, I don't know who it could be."—Newsweek "Athol Fugard can say more with a single line than most playwrights convey in an entire script."—Variety Legendary theatre artist Athol Fugard returns to the stage for the first time in fifteen years in this, his latest work. The Shadow of the Hummingbird tells the story of an ailing man in his eighties and the afternoon spent with his ten year-old grandson. In a charming meditation on the beauty and transience of the world around us, Fugard continues to mine the depths of the human spirit with profound empathy and heart. The text of the play includes an introductory Prelude by Paula Fourie with extracts from Fugard’s unpublished notebooks. Athol Fugard has been working in the theater as a playwright, director, and actor for more than fifty years. In 2011, he received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, and he was the inaugural Humanitas Visiting Professor of Drama at Oxford University. His plays include Blood Knot, Boesman and Lena, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, 'Master Harold' . . . and the Boys, The Road to Mecca, My Children! My Africa! and The Blue Iris. "The greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world."—Time "If there is a more urgent and indispensable playwright in world theater than South Africa's Athol Fugard, I don't know who it could be."—Newsweek "Athol Fugard can say more with a single line than most playwrights convey in an entire script."—Variety Legendary theatre artist Athol Fugard returns to the stage for the first time in fifteen years in this, his latest work. The Shadow of the Hummingbird tells the story of an ailing man in his eighties and the afternoon spent with his ten year-old grandson. In a charming meditation on the beauty and transience of the world around us, Fugard continues to mine the depths of the human spirit with profound empathy and heart. The text of the play includes an introductory Prelude by Paula Fourie with extracts from Fugard’s unpublished notebooks. Athol Fugard has been working in the theater as a playwright, director, and actor for more than fifty years. In 2011, he received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, and he was the inaugural Humanitas Visiting Professor of Drama at Oxford University. His plays include Blood Knot, Boesman and Lena, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, 'Master Harold' . . . and the Boys, The Road to Mecca, My Children! My Africa! and The Blue Iris.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JNYEHYY/?tag=2022091-20
My Children! My Africa!
(The search for a means to an end to apartheid erupts into...)
The search for a means to an end to apartheid erupts into conflict between a black township youth and his "old-fashioned" black teacher. The search for a means to an end to apartheid erupts into conflict between a black township youth and his "old-fashioned" black teacher.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1559360143/?tag=2022091-20
Tsotsi: A Novel
(Athol Fugard is renowned for his relentless explorations ...)
Athol Fugard is renowned for his relentless explorations of personal and political survival in apartheid South Africa which include his now classic plays Master Harold and the Boys and The Blood Knot. Fugard has written a single novel, Tsotsi, which director Gavin Hood has made into a feature film that is South Africa's official entry for the 2006 Academy Awards. Set amid the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto, where survival is the primary objective, Tsotsi traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader. When we meet Tsotsi, he is a man without a name (tsotsi is Afrikaans for "hoodlum") who has repressed his past and now exists only to stage and execute vicious crimes. When he inadvertently kidnaps a baby, Tsotsi is confronted with memories of his own painful childhood, and this angry young man begins to rediscover his own humanity, dignity, and capacity to love. Athol Fugard is renowned for his relentless explorations of personal and political survival in apartheid South Africa which include his now classic plays Master Harold and the Boys and The Blood Knot. Fugard has written a single novel, Tsotsi, which director Gavin Hood has made into a feature film that is South Africa's official entry for the 2006 Academy Awards. Set amid the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto, where survival is the primary objective, Tsotsi traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader. When we meet Tsotsi, he is a man without a name (tsotsi is Afrikaans for "hoodlum") who has repressed his past and now exists only to stage and execute vicious crimes. When he inadvertently kidnaps a baby, Tsotsi is confronted with memories of his own painful childhood, and this angry young man begins to rediscover his own humanity, dignity, and capacity to love.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802142680/?tag=2022091-20
The Train Driver and Other Plays
("For me [The Train Driver] is the biggest of them all. Ev...)
"For me [The Train Driver] is the biggest of them all. Everything I have written before has been a journey to this."Athol Fugard "A dramatic, moving theater experience written for South Africa. . . . It will save us from hopelessness. See it."Sunday Independent The Train Driver is classic Athol Fugard, and one of his most important plays. The playwright, known throughout the world as a chronicler of his native South Africa's apartheid past, directed its premiere at the newly opened Fugard Theater in one of Cape Town's most politically contentious areas. This seminal work was inspired by the true story of a mother who, with her three children, committed suicide on the train tracks in Cape Town. The two-person drama unfolds between the train's engineer and the grave digger who buries "the ones without names." This edition also includes Coming Home, Fugard's first work addressing AIDS in South Africa, and Have You Seen Us? his first play set in America, about a South African transplanted to San Diego, where the playwright currently resides. Athol Fugard's works includes Blood Knot, Master Harold. . .and the Boys, Boesman and Lena, Sizwe Banzi is Dead and My Children! My Africa! He has been widely produced in South Africa, London, on Broadway, and across the United States. "For me [The Train Driver] is the biggest of them all. Everything I have written before has been a journey to this."Athol Fugard "A dramatic, moving theater experience written for South Africa. . . . It will save us from hopelessness. See it."Sunday Independent The Train Driver is classic Athol Fugard, and one of his most important plays. The playwright, known throughout the world as a chronicler of his native South Africa's apartheid past, directed its premiere at the newly opened Fugard Theater in one of Cape Town's most politically contentious areas. This seminal work was inspired by the true story of a mother who, with her three children, committed suicide on the train tracks in Cape Town. The two-person drama unfolds between the train's engineer and the grave digger who buries "the ones without names." This edition also includes Coming Home, Fugard's first work addressing AIDS in South Africa, and Have You Seen Us? his first play set in America, about a South African transplanted to San Diego, where the playwright currently resides. Athol Fugard's works includes Blood Knot, Master Harold. . .and the Boys, Boesman and Lena, Sizwe Banzi is Dead and My Children! My Africa! He has been widely produced in South Africa, London, on Broadway, and across the United States.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/155936386X/?tag=2022091-20
Valley Song
(The long-awaited post-Apartheid play by one of the greate...)
The long-awaited post-Apartheid play by one of the greatest playwrights in South Africa and the world. The long-awaited post-Apartheid play by one of the greatest playwrights in South Africa and the world.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1559361190/?tag=2022091-20
Blood Knot and Other Plays
(These three Port Elizabeth plays, which established South...)
These three Port Elizabeth plays, which established South African playwright Athol Fugard's international reputation more than twenty years ago, examine with passion and grace close family relationships strained almost unendurably by the harshest of economic and political conditions. "A rare playwright, who could be a primary candidate for either the Nobel Prize in Literature or the Nobel Peace Prize."--Mel Gussow, The New Yorker These three Port Elizabeth plays, which established South African playwright Athol Fugard's international reputation more than twenty years ago, examine with passion and grace close family relationships strained almost unendurably by the harshest of economic and political conditions. "A rare playwright, who could be a primary candidate for either the Nobel Prize in Literature or the Nobel Peace Prize."--Mel Gussow, The New Yorker
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1559360208/?tag=2022091-20
Exits and Entrances
(“A rare playwright who could be a primary candidate for e...)
“A rare playwright who could be a primary candidate for either the Nobel Prize in Literature or the Nobel Peace Prize.”—The New Yorker This new play about life and art by renowned playwright Athol Fugard is based on his early friendship with actor Andrew Huegonit, considered the finest classical actor of their native South Africa. It is the story of one great artist’s exit from the stage and another’s beginning theater career. Athol Fugard’s work includes Blood Knot, “Master Harold”…and the boys, and My Children! My Africa! He has been widely produced in South Africa and London, on Broadway and across the United States. “A rare playwright who could be a primary candidate for either the Nobel Prize in Literature or the Nobel Peace Prize.”—The New Yorker This new play about life and art by renowned playwright Athol Fugard is based on his early friendship with actor Andrew Huegonit, considered the finest classical actor of their native South Africa. It is the story of one great artist’s exit from the stage and another’s beginning theater career. Athol Fugard’s work includes Blood Knot, “Master Harold”…and the boys, and My Children! My Africa! He has been widely produced in South Africa and London, on Broadway and across the United States.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1559363193/?tag=2022091-20
Statements
(Developed in workshops with award-winning actors, these a...)
Developed in workshops with award-winning actors, these are the works in Fugard's canon that most directly confront the dehumanizing brutality of apartheid. Includes: Sizwe Bansi is Dead, The Island, and Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act. Developed in workshops with award-winning actors, these are the works in Fugard's canon that most directly confront the dehumanizing brutality of apartheid. Includes: Sizwe Bansi is Dead, The Island, and Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0930452615/?tag=2022091-20
The Road to Mecca (Library Edition Audio CDs)
(When her husband dies, aging Miss Helen begins to fill he...)
When her husband dies, aging Miss Helen begins to fill her home in the remote South African bush with strange sculptures made from beer cans and old headlights. A local clergyman and a young woman visitor try to decide whether Miss Helens peculiar art is an outpouring of creativity or an outbreak of madness. An incandescent drama by South Africas most celebrated playwright. A L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: Julie Harris, Amy Irving, Harris Yulin
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158081302X/?tag=2022091-20
Master Harold and the Boys: A Play (Vintage International)
(A compelling drama of South African apartheid and a unive...)
A compelling drama of South African apartheid and a universal coming-of-age story, from "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world" (Time). 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.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307475204/?tag=2022091-20
Athol Harold Fugard
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Athol Harold Fugard, South African playwright, actor, director. Named to Theater Hall of Fame, 2001; recipient Obie award lifetime achievement, 1992, Lucille Lortel award outstanding body of work, 1996. Fellow Royal Society Literature (London); member American Academy Arts and Literature, Dramatists Guild, Mark Twain Society.
Education
Student, University Cape Town. Doctor of Letters (honorary), University Natal, 1981. Doctor of Letters (honorary), University Rhodes, 1983.
Doctor of Letters (honorary), Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, 1990. Doctor of Fine Arts (honorary), Yale University, Johannesburg, 1983. Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary), Georgetown University, Johannesburg, 1984.
Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), Emory University, 1992. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), University Port-Elizabeth, South Africa, 1993.
Career
The Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, People are Living Here, Boesman and Lena 1970, Sizwe Banzi is Dead 1973, The Island 1973, Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act 1974, No Good Friday 1974, Nongogo 1974, Dimetos 1976, The Road to Mecca 1984, My Children, My Africa; The Guest (film script) 1977, A Lesson from Aloes 1979 (author and director Broadway production 1980), Master Harold and the Boys 1981, A Place with the Pigs (acted and dir ); film: Marigolds in August 1981, The Guest 1984; acted in films Gandhi 1982; Honorary D.F.A. (Yale University) 1973, Honorary degree (New York, Pennsylvania, City University of New York). Director Broadway production 1980), Master Harold and the Boys 1981, A Place with the Pigs (acted and dir ). Film: Marigolds in August 1981, The Guest 1984. Acted in films Gandhi 1982.
Honorary D.F.A. (Yale University) 1973, Honorary degree (New York, Pennsylvania, City University of New York).
Works
novel
play
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Blood Knot and Other Plays
(These three Port Elizabeth plays, which established South...)
-
Tsotsi: A Novel
(Athol Fugard is renowned for his relentless explorations ...)
-
The Road to Mecca (Library Edition Audio CDs)
(When her husband dies, aging Miss Helen begins to fill he...)
-
Master Harold and the Boys: A Play (Vintage International)
(A compelling drama of South African apartheid and a unive...)
-
Statements
(Developed in workshops with award-winning actors, these a...)
-
My Children! My Africa!
(The search for a means to an end to apartheid erupts into...)
-
Exits and Entrances
(“A rare playwright who could be a primary candidate for e...)
-
Valley Song
(The long-awaited post-Apartheid play by one of the greate...)
-
The Shadow of the Hummingbird - Kindle edition by Athol Fugard, Paula Fourie. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
("The greatest active playwright in the English-speaking w...)
-
The Train Driver and Other Plays
("For me [The Train Driver] is the biggest of them all. Ev...)
-
No Good Friday
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Dimetos (1975)
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The Road to Mecca (1984)
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Children! My Africa! (1989)
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Playland (1993)
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Blood Knot and Other Plays
Membership
Fellow Royal Society Literature (London). Member American Academy Arts and Literature, Dramatists Guild, Mark Twain Society.
Connections
Married Sheila Meiring, September 22, 1955. 1 child, Lisa Maria.
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Born
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Nationality
South African
Education
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1981
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1983
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1990
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1983
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1984
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1992
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1993
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1953
Career
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1959
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1959
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1965
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1972
Awards
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Winner Silver Bear Award. Award for A Lesson From Aloes 1981. Award for Master Harold and the Boys 1983. Award for Contribution to American Theatre 1984.Winner Silver Bear Award. Award for A Lesson From Aloes 1981. Award for Master Harold and the Boys 1983.
Award for Contribution to American Theatre 1984.