Monday, 10 March 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and artistic community mourning the passing of Athol Fugard, one of South Africa’s most prolific playwrights, novelists, and storytellers. His contribution to the arts, particularly in using theatre as a weapon against apartheid, will forever be remembered as an act of defiance and a testament to the power of storytelling in the fight for justice.

Born on June 11, 1932, in Middelburg, Eastern Cape, Fugard grew up witnessing firsthand the deep racial divisions and injustices of apartheid South Africa. His career as a playwright was defined by his commitment to exposing the brutal realities of apartheid, giving voice to those silenced by a racist and oppressive system. At a time when state censorship and political repression sought to erase the suffering of Black South Africans, Fugard insisted on telling the truth through theatre.

His internationally acclaimed plays, including Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (1972) and The Island (1973), were created in collaboration with the legendary Black South African actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona. These works were daring and radical, performed in secret locations and even smuggled out of South Africa to be staged in Europe. Sizwe Banzi Is Dead exposed the inhumanity of South Africa’s pass laws, which controlled the movement of Black people and stripped them of their dignity. The Island depicted the injustice of political imprisonment, drawing direct parallels to the suffering of Nelson Mandela and countless other freedom fighters on Robben Island.

His most personal and widely studied work, “Master Harold”…and the Boys (1982), drew from his own childhood experiences, examining the painful realities of racism and the deep scars it left on human relationships. Through the complex friendship between a young white boy and two Black men who worked for his family, Fugard captured the insidious nature of apartheid, showing how it poisoned even the most intimate human connections. The play was banned in South Africa upon its release but gained international acclaim through a Broadway feature, further amplifying the anti-apartheid struggle.

Beyond theatre, Fugard also made significant contributions to South African literature. His novel Tsotsi, first published in 1980, painted a harrowing yet deeply human portrait of life in the townships under apartheid. The story follows a ruthless young gangster in Johannesburg who is forced to confront his own humanity after unexpectedly finding himself caring for an abandoned baby. Tsotsi is a powerful exploration of crime, poverty, and redemption in a society built on oppression. The novel was later adapted into the 2005 Academy Award-winning film, which brought Fugard’s story to a global audience, shedding light on the social conditions that continue to shape South Africa.

In 2011, Fugard was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award for his contribution to theatre. He was also the recipient of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, one of South Africa’s highest national honours. Furthermore, his work is still studied in schools and universities worldwide, ensuring that the horrors of apartheid will never be forgotten.

As the EFF reflects on Fugard’s passing, we acknowledge that the injustices he exposed continue to manifest in the economic exclusion, poverty, and racial inequality that still plague South Africa today. The struggle against oppression remains unfinished, and we must continue the fight with the same courage and conviction that defined Fugard’s work.

The EFF, therefore, calls on the government of the day to bestow dignity on Fugard’s name and his legacy by ensuring that The Fugard Theatre is reopened following its shameful closure in March 2021. Theatre continues to hold an important role in developing communities and mainstreaming the concepts of justice. The government’s failure to support the theatre industry marks a failure to preserve the heritage of South African anti-apartheid movement in the art industry. As such, the EFF calls on the relevant stakeholders to invest in local theatre making organisations, creatives and movements in townships, institutions of higher learning and the broader society.

May Fugard’s legacy inspire future generations of artists, writers, and revolutionaries to use their voices against all forms of injustice. Rest in peace Athol Fugard.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572