Pretoria – President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the late playwright, novelist, and actor Athol Fugard as “an extraordinary storyteller in remarkable times, as well as the moral compass for a generation.”
Fugard passed away on Sunday, (9 March 2025), at the age of 93.
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“Beyond his impressive body of work, Athol Fugard will be remembered as a rare voice among many white South Africans who chose to ignore the injustices committed in their name,” remarked President Ramaphosa.
During the late 1950s, Fugard worked as a clerk in the Native Commissioner’s Court in Johannesburg, a position that profoundly shaped his worldview and political consciousness.
He was renowned for his collaborative initiatives across racial divides at a time when such engagements were prohibited, and he founded several theatre companies alongside black actors.
Fugard’s acclaimed works include significant plays such as No Good Friday, The Blood Knot, Master Harold and the Boys, and Sizwe Bansi is Dead.
His 1980 novel Tsotsi was adapted into a film by director Gavin Hood, which won an Academy Award in 2005.
In his play, The Island, co-created with theatre legends Winston Ntshona and John Kani, the brutality and dehumanization of apartheid were vividly portrayed on a bare stage resembling a prison cell on Robben Island.
In 1985, Athol Fugard was recognized by Time magazine as the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world.
He leveraged this influential platform to raise awareness among international audiences in support of the anti-apartheid movement.
“As a nation, we are grateful that we could honor the legendary Athol Fugard during his lifetime with the National Order of Ikhamanga in Silver,” President Ramaphosa commented.
“The Fugard Theatre in District Six in Cape Town stands as a fitting homage to a man whose life and works have left an indelible impact and will continue to inspire future generations of creative minds for years to come.”
