Renowned South African playwright, novelist, director and actor Athol Fugard died recently.
Fugard—well known for productions such as Sizwe Bansi is Dead, which has been adapted for the stage by several theatre practitioners in the country—died at the age of 92.
Sizwe Bansi is Dead was written by Fugard in collaboration with John Kani and Winston Ntshona and it follows Sizwe Bansi as desperate times cause him to shed his name and adopt the identity of a dead man.
Fugard wrote the play while working as a law clerk at Native Commissioner’s Court in Johannesburg in South Africa. Due to the South African Pass Laws, which aimed to segregate working class black men, every black man was legally obligated to carry a passbook that would limit his employment and travel throughout the country.
The opening scene takes place in photographer Style’s studio in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. Styles is reading a news article about an automobile plant and he tells the audience a funny story about his time working at Ford Motor Company.
He expresses desire to preserve the images of his people.
This two-act play was staged by Misheck Mzumara, who is currently in United States of America pursuing further studies, and Thlupego Chisiza [now dead] in 2015 at Nanzikambe Arts Theatre in Naperi, Blantyre, then.
The play went on a tour across the country before being restaged in 2017.
Mzumara played Sizwe Bansi whereas Thlupego took two roles; those of Styles and Buntu.
The two revisited the production, saying its story was still relevant.
Mzumara says he has come to realise that Fugard’s plays were deeply rooted in the socio-political landscape of the apartheid era and that they offered profound insights that transcend their original context and resonate in contemporary Malawi.
“His works address themes such as oppression, abuse of power and the resilience of the human spirit—issues that closely mirror the challenges we face today,” he said.
Mzumara, who is passionate about theatre, said in Malawi, corruption and the misuse of power have significantly impeded development and the equitable distribution of resources.
A report then highlighted that the fight against corruption in Malawi would require legal, political and citizen action, emphasising the need for systematic change and, so, motivated by this, Mzumara and Thlupego embarked on a nationwide tour with Sizwe Bansi is Dead.
Additionally, with Thokozani Kapiri, who is a drama lecturer at the University of Malawi in Zomba, they staged The Island in Lilongwe and Mzuzu.
Mzumara said the plays depict the dehumanising effects of systematic oppression and the struggle for dignity under unjust systems.
“They serve as powerful mirrors for us, reflecting our own experiences with governance and societal challenges,” he said.
By engaging in Fugard’s work, Mzumara said their aim was to deepen audience’s understanding of the psychological and social impacts of corruption and abuse of power, fostering empathy and inspiring action towards societal transformation.
Fugard’s emphasis on personal narratives within oppressive systems, according to Mzumara, highlights the importance of individual agency and collective resistance.
“In our context, where citizens continue to advocate for transparency and accountability, staging Fugard’s works reinforced the value of storytelling as a tool for social change and a means to challenge entrenched injustices,” Mzumara said.
He goes on to say that Fugard was among the world’s foremost playwrights and that although his works are anchored in a specific historical and geographical context, the themes explored offer universal lessons on the effects of power, the importance of integrity and enduring quest for justice.
“Though he has died, his legacy endures through his works. I remain in contact with the rights holder of his plays, intending to continue staging them,” Mzumara said.
He further said he believes that for Malawi, Fugard’s plays will continue to serve as both a reflection of “our struggles and a source of inspiration for ongoing advocacy and reform”.
“Malawian theatre practitioners can learn from Athol Fugard on how emphasis on personal narratives within oppressive systems underscores the importance of individual agency and collective resistance.
“Fugard demonstrates how storytelling can challenge entrenched injustices,” the dramatist said.
Kapiri said his thesis was on Fugard’s work and described him as a great playwright.
Legendary poet Benedicto Wokoma-atani Malunga wrote on his Facebook page following the news of Fugard’s passing that his death had left him cold.
Wokomatani—famed for poems such as ‘Ndidzakutengera Ku Nyanja Ligineti’ and ‘Sianaso Awa’—admits that he never met Fugard when he lived and that he never saw him in person.
However, the iconic poet and writer met Fugard through what he described as his hard hitting plays performed at Chancellor College, now University of Malawi, in Zomba by the late Chris Kamlongera, Edge Kanyongolo and Viphya Harawa.
Malunga writes that his academic life, at undergraduate level, would have been incomplete without being conscientised about apartheid through The Island and Sizwe Bansi is Dead.
“These two plays offered massive education on the race relations in South Africa. They lived their roles when they performed these educative plays. It was like Fugard wrote these works for them and them only,” he said.
Malunga said Fugard’s works will live on and that, through his plays, he used art skillfully as a tool for transformation.
News24 quoted Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sports Mec Ricardo Mackenzie upon news of his death that he was one of South Africa’s greatest playwrights, who managed to capture everyday stories of people in his plays.
Apart from Sizwe Bansi is Dead, some of Fugard’s greatest works include his 1980 novel Tsotsi, which was later adapted into an Oscar-winning film of the same name.
Over his life, Fugard wrote over 30 plays.
He once told Playbill of why he dedicated his career to documenting apartheid and its injustices and he responded: “In South Africa, a lot of people want to run away from anything that resembles reality to just sit back and watch Noel Coward.”
He went further to say that theatre is one of the ways in which society deals with its pain, its conscience.
“Theatre and all the arts, however, played a major role in the fight against apartheid,” Fugard said.
And, so, as Fugard rests, his words speak on to implore those in the creative sector to use art in fighting injustices.
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