South African writer Athol Fugard, whose 1972 play ‘Sizwe Bansi is Dead’ brought the indignities that Black people endured under apartheid to theatre audiences around the world, died on Sunday aged 92.
Born in 1932, he was one of the few White South Africans who stood up against the regime. Not only did his plays expose its brutality, he also worked with Black actors – which was illegal under apartheid.
Fugard credited his mother with helping him “break the conditioning that was taking place on school playgrounds, in classrooms, everywhere.” In his 20s, he started working as a clerk in a court which prosecuted Black South Africans who had broken the so-called pass laws (designed to restrict their movements and employment opportunities), giving him a front-row seat to the injustices of apartheid.
This experience would serve as inspiration for ‘Sizwe Bansi is Dead.’ The play is about a Black man who steals a dead man’s identity by using his passbook (apartheid-era ID document) to take up residency and seek employment in the city.
The play, co-authored with John Kani (King T’chaka in Black Panther) and Winston Ntshona, became a hit and was screened for audiences in different parts of the world, bringing attention to the apartheid struggle. It was one of a number in which Fugard poked the apartheid beast, which at one point revoked his passport.
His contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle has been lauded across the political divide, with tributes pouring in from President Cyril Ramaphosa and the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, which described him as a writer whose life was marked by “his commitment to exposing the brutal realities of apartheid, giving voice to those silenced by a racist and oppressive system.”
Sources
https://x.com/EFFSouthAfrica/status/1898980324777787865
https://www.supersummary.com/sizwe-banzi-is-dead/summary/
https://www.citizen.co.za/network-news/lnn/article/president-pays-tribute-to-athol-fugard/