MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

RIP Athol Fugard

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Dear Editor

The Democratic Alliance (DA) expresses its deepest condolences to the friends and family of world-renowned playwright, Athol Fugard.

Lauded as the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world by Time magazine in 1989, his works, including classics such as Master Harold … and the Boys, The Road to Mecca, and Tsotsi (later adapted into an Oscar-winning film) challenged injustice and battled prejudice, and continue to receive acclaim both at home and around the world.

Fugard’s profound contributions to South African theatre and the struggle for freedom will reverberate through generations.

The DA extends its most heartfelt condolences to Fugard’s family and those closest to him, as South Africans mourn the passing of a literary giant.

Regards

Joe McGluwa
DA Spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture

Athol Fugard – Master Harold and the Boys

Athol Fugard was a son of Gqeberha and famously wrote Master Harold and the Boys about his experiences as a young boy

in the St Georges Park Swimming Pool Tea Room.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality recently renamed three of the streets around the PE Opera House to celebrate three of Gqeberha’s theatre legends. John Kani, Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona are truly three world icons and worked together on Sizwe Banzi is Dead in 1972 and The Island in 1973. Ntshona and Kani went on to win Tony awards for best actor for both plays while the names of all three have become synonymous with a phenomenal theatre legacy in South Africa.

Belmont Terrace was renamed as Athol Fugard Terrace, Whites Road to John Kani Road and Chapel Street was changed to Winston Ntshona Street.

Sadly, we missed a great opportunity to tie Gqeberha to Fugard when the city failed to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the founding of St Georges Park.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.