Athol Fugard is a dramatist of enormous power, particularly adept at full length plays with a small cast. A one time student of philosophy, Fugard’s works are marked by an experientially driven search for truth and an attendant celebration of humanity, no matter how circumscribed the individual’s material conditions. While Fugard has written works set in other locales than South Africa, his evocation of the Karroo region of the Eastern Cape is inimitably his landscape. In a language that reaches the poetic, Fugard has charted the lives of the region’s dispossessed. His work has a universal application to audiences that arises from its precise grounding in the South Africa of the latter part of the twentieth century. His post-apartheid works have less power and evenness in their…

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Citation: McLuckie, Craig. "Athol Fugard". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1651, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1651 Athol Fugard 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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