ZUM TOD DES SÜDAFRIKANISCHEN SCHRIFTSTELLERS, DRAMATIKERS UND SCHAUSPIELERS ATHOL FUGARD

Er galt als der bedeutendste Theaterautor Südafrikas: Der am 11. Juni 1932 in Middelburg geborene südafrikanische Schriftsteller, Dramatiker, Journalist und Schauspieler Athol Fugard (Bild) ist am 8. März 2025 in Stellenbosch gestorben. Erste Erfolge hatte Fugard mit «No-Good Friday» (1958) und «Nongogo» (1959). In der Zeit des Massakers von Sharpeville im Jahr 1960 verfasste er den erst 20 Jahre später publizierten Roman «Tsotsi» (der 2005 verfilmt wurde; die Verfilmung erhielt 2006 den Oscar als «Bester fremdsprachiger Film») und mehrere Dramen, die das Thema Rassismus behandeln, zum Beispiel «The Blood Knot» (1961), «People are Living There» (1963) und «Boesman and Lena» (1966). Im 1982 produzierten, mehrfach oscarprämierten Spielfilm «Gandhi» war Fugard in der Rolle des südafrikanischen Politikers Jan Christiaan Smuts zu sehen, eine seiner bekanntesten Arbeiten als Schauspieler. Ab 1995 schrieb und publizierte Fugard eine mehrbändige Autobiographie. (*)

Athol Fugard, © American Academy of Achievement, aus dem Video «Athol Fugard, Academy Class of 2014, Full Interview», https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALXffZ2C-tg - www.achievement.org

Bild: Athol Fugard, © American Academy of Achievement, aus dem Video «Athol Fugard, Academy Class of 2014, Full Interview», https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALXffZ2C-tg – www.achievement.org

Western Cape Government mourns passing of Athol Fugard

Fugard published more than 30 plays in his lifetime, many of them focused on the injustices of the apartheid system. Many of his plays were produced and performed outside of South Africa, because of his commitment to not supporting segregation of audiences.

Some of his plays that made impressions both locally and internationally include The Blood Knot, Hello and Goodbye, Master Harold and the Boys and The Road to Mecca. His work brought audiences together through the messages of shared pain of the past and an inspired hope for a better future.

In 2010, the Fugard Theatre was opened in Cape Town in honour of this great playwright (the theatre re-opened after the Covid-19 pandemic under the new name of the Homecoming theatre).

The provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Ricardo Mackenzie, said: “It is a very sad day for South Africa. Athol Fugard was one of our country’s greatest playwrights, who managed to capture everyday stories of people in our country in every play. 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.”

Premier Alan Winde said: “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. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones. May his legacy live on in or theatres and beyond.”

https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/western-cape-government-mourns-passing-athol-fugard-09-mar-2025

Nelson Mandela University mourns the passing of one of the world’s greatest playwrights, South Africa’s Dr Athol Fugard

Athol Fugard was awarded many honours in his lifetime, including being named by Time in 1985 as «the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world»; awarded Broadway’s top honour, a Tony Lifetime Achievement Award; and South Africa’s Ikhamanga Medal.

Fugard appreciated the recognition and the opportunities this presented, but made the point in Exits and Entrances that when everything is stripped away from us, what we are left with is humility.

And so it is that we bid farewell to our shining storyteller whose works will never lose their relevance. Goodbye Dr Fugard, may your soul rest in contentment. Nelson Mandela University sends our deep condolences to your family, may they find comfort.

https://news.mandela.ac.za/News/Statement-on-the-passing-of-Dr-Athol-Fugard-on-8-M

Renowned playwright Athol Fugard dies, aged 92

Named the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world by Time magazine in 1989, the Eastern Cape-born Fugard wrote about the dawning of his political awareness of the destructive forces of apartheid on humaneness and about the resilience of ordinary people. He grew up poor with his mother being the family of five’s breadwinner, running a Gqeberha boarding house, and later a tea room in the then popular St George’s Park that provided the setting for one of his most popular plays, Master Harold … and the Boys (1982).

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2025-03-09-renowned-playwright-athol-fugard-dies-aged-92/#google_vignette

https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2025-03-09-renowned-playwright-athol-fugard-dies-aged-92

In Pictures: The Life and Legacy of South African playwright Athol Fugard

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-10-photo-essay-athol-fugard/?dm_source=dm_block_grid&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main

Athol Fugard, South African Playwright Who Dissected Apartheid, Dies at 92

Athol Fugard was both repelled and fueled by the bond he felt with his homeland. For decades he was considered subversive by the government; at times productions of his work, with their integrated casts, were considered illegal

Bruce Weber

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/09/obituaries/athol-fugard-dead.html

Athol Fugard was a dreamer, listener and master storyteller – on stage and at home

I think that life contains an urgent lesson for us. His work is a model for how to resist a regime one detests while remaining committed to the country one loves – a pressing question for a great many people today. In his final public appearance, speaking to an online audience convened by the Society of Authors last year, he shared what I thought might be the key tenet of that project: “Anger is a withering emotion. It is better to write out of love.”

Barney Norris

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/mar/10/athol-fugard-died-aged-92-south-african-writer-barney-norris

Muere a los 92 años el actor y dramaturgo sudafricano Athol Fugard, gran azote del ‹apartheid›

Muchas de sus obras fueron producidas y representadas fuera de Sudáfrica, debido a su compromiso de no apoyar la segregación racial impuesta por la minoría blanca en lugares públicos en su país.

Efe

https://www.elmundo.es/cultura/2025/03/09/67cdc7ac21efa0131f8b456e.html

Addio ad Athol Fugard, lo scrittore diventato icona anti-Apartheid con «Tsotsi»

Il drammaturgo, scrittore e regista sudafricano di lingua inglese, aveva 92 anni. Nelle sue oltre 40 opere sfidò i tabù razzisti del regime facendo recitare insieme sul palco bianchi e neri

https://www.rainews.it/articoli/2025/03/addio-ad-athol-fugard-lo-scrittore-diventato-icona-anti-apartheid-con-tsotsi-41e79a8d-155a-46e5-b8ad-4179add02163.html

Le dramaturge sud-africain Athol Fugard est mort à l’âge de 92 ans

Le dramaturge sud-africain Athol Fugard, dont l’essentiel de l’oeuvre a été écrite sous l’apartheid et qui avait défié les tabous racistes de ce régime, en faisant jouer Blancs et Noirs ensemble sur scène dès les années 1960, est décédé, samedi 8 mars, à l’âge de 92 ans, a annoncé dimanche la ville du Cap.

La mairie a présenté dans un communiqué ses condoléances à «tous ceux qui ont été touchés par son art», après le décès de ce géant du théâtre sud-africain «réputé pour son opposition inébranlable à l’apartheid». Auteur de plus de 30 pièces, il a aussi été comédien et metteur en scène.

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/spectacles/theatre/le-dramaturge-sud-africain-athol-fugard-est-mort-a-l-age-de-92-ans_7119987.html

Kompromisslos gegen die Apartheid

Weil er Schwarze in seinen Workshop holte, geriet Athol Fugard ins Visier der Apartheid-Regierung. Nun ist Südafrikas großer Dramatiker gestorben.

https://taz.de/Der-Dramatiker-Athol-Fugar-ist-gestorben/!6075066/

Er war ein liberaler Prophet

Athol Fugard, Südafrikas liberale dramatische Stimme, ist gestorben. Seine Stücke prägten das Protest-Theater gegen die Apartheid. Seine Gesichtszüge waren von früh an zerfurcht, aber sein Charakter von sanfter Dringlichkeit.

Robert von Lucius

https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buecher/autoren/zum-tod-von-des-autors-und-dramatikers-athol-fugard-110347667.html

Videos:

Interview Athol Fugard – Tekweni Media @Tekweni, 1:32:49