South Africa has lost its literary conscience. Athol Fugard, the playwright who fearlessly chronicled the brutality of apartheid and the fragile hope of reconciliation, died on Saturday at the age of 92.
Born in Middelburg in the Eastern Cape in 1932, Fugard leaves behind his wife, Sheila. His death was confirmed by his family, who stated that he passed away peacefully at his home in Stellenbosch. While the cause of death has not been officially disclosed, it is understood that he had been in declining health in recent years.
Tributes poured in from across the country, with President Cyril Ramaphosa calling Fugard “the moral conscience of a generation.” The Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie, hailed him as “a fearless storyteller who laid bare the harsh realities of apartheid through his plays”.
The playwright who refused to look away
Fugard’s work was not comfortable theatre. It did not entertain in the conventional sense—it unsettled, it provoked, it forced South Africans, both then and now, to confront the violence, oppression, and moral failures of their time.
The Blood Knot (1961) explored the painful realities of race and identity. Sizwe Banzi is Dead (1972) laid bare the indignities of the pass laws. The Island (1972) captured the dehumanisation of political prisoners on Robben Island. His stories weren’t just about apartheid; they were about power, complicity, and the choices ordinary people make in extraordinary circumstances.
His defiance wasn’t just in the words he wrote but in the way he staged them. In a country where black and white artists were not legally allowed to perform together, Fugard co-founded the Serpent Players, a multi-racial theatre group that operated in secret, performing in black townships under constant surveillance from the apartheid government. He collaborated closely with black actors like John Kani and Winston Ntshona, crediting them as co-creators of Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island—a radical move at a time when black artists were often sidelined or exploited.
He refused to comply with apartheid’s segregationist policies, rejecting offers to stage his plays in venues that barred black audiences. Instead, he found ways to bypass the restrictions, staging productions in community halls, church basements, and even the homes of activists. His defiance came at a cost—his passport was revoked, his plays were censored or banned, and his work was condemned by the state. Yet, despite the risks, he remained steadfast, using theatre not just as a form of storytelling but as an act of resistance.
The burden of bearing witness
Fugard understood the weight of being a white South African who profited from the very system he opposed. He was painfully honest—about his own complicity, about the wounds apartheid inflicted on the nation, and about the fact that those wounds never truly healed.
His 1980 novel Tsotsi was adapted in 2005 into an Oscar-winning film, proving that his stories were universal, even as they remained deeply South African. He won a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2011, an honour he accepted with the same humility that defined his work.
The responsibility of the next generation
In a BBC interview in 2010, Fugard issued a challenge that rings even louder today: “I think the present society in South Africa needs the vigilance of writers, every bit as much as the old one did. It is a responsibility that young writers, playwrights, must really wake up to and understand that responsibility is theirs, just as it was mine and a host of other writers in the earlier years.”
Who will take up that mantle now? Fugard’s plays may be studied in schools, performed in theatres, and quoted in obituaries, but their true purpose has always been to provoke action. His passing is a reminder that the fight for justice is not over, that there are stories that still need to be told, and that South Africa is still in search of its next generation of fearless storytellers.
Emma is a freshly graduated Journalist from Stellenbosch University, who also holds an Honours in history. She joined the explain team, eager to provide thorough and truthful information and connect with her generation.
