Township Plays

by Athol Fugard

The five plays collected here offer a unique insight into the role of theatre in a situation of oppression. They were produced in close collaboration with their original black amateur casts, drawing on their lives and everyday experiences in the townships. They range from the early apprentice work of the brash but vital Sophiatown plays, No-Good Friday and Nongogo, to the freer, more urgent, and profound New Brighton plays, including the most famous Sizwe Bansi is Dead and IThe Island, and the previously unavailable The Coat.

Genres: Plays, Drama, South Africa, Theatre, Literature, Fiction, School

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Athol Fugard was a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. Acclaimed in 1985 as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world" by Time, he published more than thirty plays. He was best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid, some of which have been adapted to film. His novel Tsotsi was adapted as a film of the same name, which won an Academy Award in 2005. It was directed by Gavin Hood.
Fugard also served as an adjunct professor of playwriting, acting and directing in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of California, San Diego.
Fugard received many awards, honours, and honorary degrees, including the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver from the government of South Africa in 2005 "for his excellent contribution and achievements in the theatre". He was also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Fugard was honoured in Cape Town with the opening in 2010 of the Fugard Theatre in District Six. He received a Tony Award for lifetime achievement in 2011.

Reviews

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for A111.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Sizwe Bansi is dead' is the most theatrical among these plays: creative use of light and set, minimal and complex narration, and the form (role-playing) reflecting the content (somebody taking over the 'role' of a deadman). The two earlier ones 'no-good friday' and 'nongogo' are more standard plays, but with a sharp social and political edge, and natural character development: you easily get involved with the story. There is also a Brechtian one: 'the coat', and a much stronger minimal prison-theatre inside theatre story of 'the island', where the warden and the chains are invisible but palpable, just like the conditions of oppression are invisible but closely felt. Great plays overall.

[rui ♡³ · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating is mainly based on “the island”.

At this truly shattering theatrical moment, we are brought to understand what the township plays stand for: as John Kani says, they ‘give back to the people their voices’. The white liberal playwright has been taken by his creative collaboration with black performers to provide a medium for the voices of the marginalized, the obscure and humiliated, all those who now demand their right to recognition, to an admission of their place in the world.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. I had seen a performance of Sizwe Bansi Is Dead several years ago and I am studying The Island for my part-time degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. I found all of these plays thought provoking and moving, very well written, deceptive in their seeming simplicity. Very good introduction by Walder. Highly recommended for anybody interested in Fugard, apartheid, South African drama, etc.

[Ronel Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way the scenes are set, i could see the plays come to life. Especially liked Nongogo and No good Friday as it brought the township alive.

[Sweeto Makiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like meta-theatre, minimalist theatre, and absurdism, you’d like this!

[Esha Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

made me cry twice in one night <3 (read for literature a level)

personal faves: Nongogo, No Good Friday

want to see on stage: Sizwe Bansi is Dead

[Saintt · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading all the plays in this collection, I can easily say,
Athol Fugard knows what he’s doing. My favourite was Sizwe Banzi Is Dead !

[Amber Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading all the plays in this collection, I can easily say,
Athol Fugard knows what he’s doing. My favourite was Sizwe Banzi Is Dead !

[Christine Muller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sizwe Bansi is Dead is one of my favourite plays, for the amazing way it is put together but also the stark reality it brings to life of living in Apartheid South Africa. It is very sobering and humbling to see what others have had to struggle through and how some amazing theatre can come out of the darkness of our history.

[Wonderkell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Especially loved 'The Coat' & 'The Island'. And I love how these plays were developed & workshopped. That is a wonderful story in itself.

[Patience · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really defines what theater is about and the power it has. One gets to experience what it was like living in South Africa during the Apartheid era. It is a Good read....