How Athol Fugard’s The Island exposed the true horrors of apartheid

This portion was archetypal published successful 2024 to commemorate 50 years since the archetypal show of The Island

The lights travel up connected a bare stage. Two achromatic South African actors, dressed successful situation uniforms, mime shovelling soil into wheelbarrows successful a quarry. As if perspiring profusely successful the glaring noonday sun, they propulsion their loads to the different broadside of the stage, whereupon, struggling nether the weight, they bare their imaginary barrows into the holes they person conscionable dug, hitch their brows and statesman implicit - is this abject futility oregon existential defiance?

Lasting for thing up to 15 minutes, this is the aggravated opening country from The Island by South African dramatist Athol Fugard (co-written with actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona), astir apt the astir celebrated play successful the South African theatrical canon and present 50 years since it opened to rave reviews connected Broadway successful New York.

The opening country serves arsenic a harrowing illustration of the inhumane punishments devised by the apartheid authorities to interruption the tone of governmental prisoners, and arsenic a ultimate illustration of Fugard’s trade arsenic a maestro of theatrical storytelling.

Dame Janet Suzman, the highly acclaimed South African-born histrion says of her compatriot, “He deed the close enactment for the world’s interest astir apartheid to beryllium channelled done his plays.

“For South Africans similar me, helium gave america done his plays the means of expressing our misery astatine the mode our state was conducting itself.”

Once hailed by Time mag arsenic “the top playwright successful the English-speaking world”, Fugard’s different works included Blood Knot (1961), astir 2 brothers, 1 of whom is sufficiently light-skinned to walk for white, and Master Harold And The Boys (1982), acceptable successful the Port Elizabeth beverage rooms of his childhood. But it is The Island, archetypal performed successful Cape Town successful 1973, and described by Suzman arsenic “one of the large plays of the 20th century”, which is arguably his masterpiece.

Originally entitled The Hodoshe Span (Hodoshe, a Xhosa connection for a carrion fly, is the nickname of a reviled situation defender successful the play), The Island is acceptable connected Robben Island, the infamous maximum information situation disconnected the seashore of Cape Town wherever Nelson Mandela was held captive for galore years. It tells the communicative of John and Winston, 2 cellmates who person been imprisoned for anti-apartheid activities. One whitethorn soon beryllium released, whereas the different is serving a longer sentence. As they hole to execute Sophocles’ Antigone for a forthcoming situation production, rehearsing successful their compartment astatine nighttime utilizing makeshift props, they place with the Greek tragedy’s protagonist successful presumption of their absorption against tyranny, and successful truthful doing not lone exposure the tensions successful their ain friendship, but besides the suffocating oppression astir them.

“To enclose successful a tiny play astir meaningless repetition a overmuch larger play astir idiosyncratic rights and past wrongs is genius,” says Suzman, “widening some works retired into a azygous clasp wherever Sophocles meets Fugard and his actors successful the escaped satellite of the stage.”

While The Island is superior successful intent, successful its dealing with the dehumanising quality of apartheid, and the science of incarceration, the play is often disconcertingly funny, peculiarly successful its depiction of resilience successful the look of privation. As Fugard told the New York Times: “Despite an unbelievable load of oppression, determination are things to observe successful our country. The authorities is evil, but the tone of the radical is not broken.”

Created successful a store collaboration, Fugard dispersed a folded broad connected the crushed and invited Kani and Ntshona to research the precise constricted space, arsenic a means of replicating the rigours of utmost confinement successful a situation cell.

When Fugard and his actors archetypal performed the play, astatine The Space theatre successful Cape Town, they felt a colossal responsibility. As helium explained successful 2002: “It was an juncture for the profoundest humility, due to the fact that we were going to effort to carnivore witnesser to what the land meant for chap South Africans.”

Kani said successful a 2019 interrogation that, “The important happening for america was to beryllium portion of the struggle. You had to archer stories that were important to you.” In fact, Kani undoubtedly channelled his ain lived acquisition into the relation of John. As helium famously articulated overmuch later, “I spent 51 years nether apartheid. I don’t ideate suffering. I cognize it.”

Given the apartheid restrictions astatine the time, it was technically amerciable for Fugard, Kani and Ntshona to adjacent fraternise, fto unsocial collaborate connected specified a politically charged, highly seditious portion of theatre.

Performed to a racially mixed assemblage and with its archetypal rubric consciously omitting immoderate notation to Robben Island (so arsenic to circumvent superior repercussions from the apartheid regime), curtains were drawn implicit the theatre’s windows successful an effort to conceal the galore transgressions inside.

Kani aboriginal said of their intent: “It is ridiculous to deliberation we tin erase racism successful South Africa, but done theatre determination tin beryllium a genuine effort to determination connected with our lives and physique a amended country.”

Following its occurrence successful Cape Town, The Island transferred to London’s Royal Court earlier moving to New York the pursuing twelvemonth wherever Kani and Ntshona shared the Tony Award for Best Actor successful a Leading Role.

Of people the 2 actors were important to the occurrence of the play, arsenic good arsenic to Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, their different collaboration with Fugard, which appeared successful repertory with The Island connected Broadway. Set successful Styles’ photographic workplace successful the Port Elizabeth township of New Brighton, the play centres connected Sizwe Bansi, a migrant labourer forced to presume the individuality of a dormant man, 1 Robert Zwelinzima, whose walk publication (containing a valid enactment seeker’s permit) helium has stolen aft stumbling upon the corpse erstwhile returning from a drunken nighttime out. Pretending to beryllium Robert, Sizwe comes to Styles for a photograph to nonstop backmost to his woman portion helium looks for work. By swapping passbooks with the dormant man, frankincense “killing off” Sizwe Banzi, helium volition beryllium capable to get a occupation astatine the section mill and successful truthful doing supply nutrient for his family.

“Because John Kani and Winston Ntshona were achromatic men surviving nether apartheid’s Pass Laws for real, the 2 actors could mock and parody the anserine rules that constricted their regular lives with the wit that lone deprivation of liberty tin decently engender,” explains Suzman.

Yet for each their ardent defiance and poetic, comic brilliance, immoderate person debated whether Fugard’s plays are inactive relevant, fixed that apartheid officially ended 30 years ago, and frankincense the strategy against which Fugard creatively defined himself has agelong been dismantled.

Of course, specified a presumption is myopic. While the Rainbow Nation is undoubtedly facing a full caller acceptable of social, radical and economical challenges, the pernicious bequest of apartheid remains highly visible, adjacent if the aged polarities of achromatic and achromatic are present little entrenched.

The Island and Sizwe Bansi are besides plays which widen their meaning beyond South Africa, seamlessly moving from the circumstantial to the cosmopolitan successful their exploration of man’s inhumanity to antheral and their articulation of identity, solidarity, brotherhood and the tendency for state and dignity successful the look of suffering.

Fugard sometimes faced disapproval for being a achromatic wide acold removed from the harsh realities of the townships, portion others said helium turned achromatic trauma into melodramatic golden for his ain creator ends. As helium erstwhile freely admitted, “I was a dependable that plugged into the vigor and struggle of the aged South Africa. I can’t contradict that. Those conflicts - those rights and wrongs, dos and don’ts - were a precise energising origin successful my writing.”

Yet Fugard was not simply sitting successful an ivory tower. He tirelessly advocated for racially de-segregated casts and audiences, and his plays brought the apartheid authorities planetary condemnation astatine a clip erstwhile cognition of its brutality was not commonplace.

Ultimately The Island and Sizwe Bansi were indispensable plays, and similar each large creation were a catalyst for change, some politically and for those successful Cape Town, London and New York for whom seeing them was transformative. “I deliberation it is nether the unit of desperation that bonzer things tin hap successful a quality life,” Fugard told National Public Radio successful the US. “And if ever determination was a state oversupplied with desperation, it was South Africa astatine that time.”

Athol Fugard obituary

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph escaped for 1 period with unlimited entree to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.