The Fugard Theatre’s new digital platform, The Fugard At Home, launched on 1 June, presenting a unique opportunity to access a range of theatrical content on The Fugard Theatre’s website.

Following the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the subsequent lockdown, and the current uncertainty about when theatres will be able to safely operate again, The Fugard Theatre has launched The Fugard At Home , in response to having to cancel their 2020 Season. The Fugard At Home will be accessible from the Theatre’s website at thefugard.com.

From 1 June, theatre lovers will be able to stream some of The Fugard Theatre’s acclaimed past productions, visit the Information Hub to find out what is streaming both locally and globally, and even take a 360-degree tour of the Theatre’s foyer. Visitors can also learn more about Athol Fugard and his extensive body of work, as well as read up on the history of the building the Fugard is located in.

A highlight on the platform will be the opening of the Fugard Theatre’s production archive, where visitors can stream recorded live titles of a curated selection of The Fugard’s past productions. Available from 1 June will be Athol Fugard’s The Road to Mecca, starring South African legends Sandra Prinsloo and Marius Weyers and the award-winning Emily Child, which ran at the Fugard in 2018. The production received three Fleur du Cap Theatre Award nominations for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Set Design for the late Saul Radomsky.

In addition, the compelling production of Fugard’s “Master Harold”…And The Boys, which was staged in celebration of the Fugards tenth birthday, will also be available to stream due to popular demand, starring Desmond Dube, Kai Luke Brummer, and Siya Mayola.

The Fugard At Home will also feature, The Performer Series, which will go in to production soon. The Performer Series will provide a sterilised environment for multi-medium, single performer, performance pieces, including theatre, dance, music and more, to take place on The Fugard’s main stage, filmed and edited and then broadcast on The Fugard At Home platform. Once launched, an episode will be released per week.

The Fugard At Home will be an ever-evolving virtual platform and arts portal, including Fugard Theatre merchandise, which will be released for sale on the platform soon. For access to offers and exclusive events on The Fugard At Home, sign up as a Friend of The Fugard on our website, thefugard.com

The Fugard Theatre NPC is a not for profit company which works towards the advancement, promotion and preservation of arts and culture in South Africa, in honour of Athol Fugard. Should you wish to donate towards The Fugard Theatre’s work, you can do so by going to thefugard.com

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Concerning the Life of Babyboy Kleintjies is set on a Stellenbosch winter’s night.  A trio of beggars – Lappies, Riempie and Vink – sheltering under a road bridge over the Eersteriver are joined by a young vagrant woman, Marie, who brings with her an unexpected find. Their night spent together huddled under the bridge rushes to a violent conclusion during which the beggars and Marie – so too, the actors and the audience – are confronted with harsh truths about themselves and the society we live in.

Joined now by Fourie, this play represents Fugard’s opportunity to fulfill a promise made to Barney Simon and Berthold Brecht nearly sixty years ago.

Concerning the Life of Babyboy Kleintjies is Written and Directed by Athol Fugard and Paula Fourie. Set Design is by Susan Hilferty (Boesman and Lena, Signature Theatre, New York; Blood Wedding, Young Vic, London). Lighting Design is by Mannie Manim, who has lit every first production of an Athol Fugard play in South Africa since 1977.  Costume Design is by Widaad Albertus (‘Master Harold’…And The Boys, Langarm) and Sound Design is by David Classen (Statements After An Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Shakespeare in Love). Associate Designer is Nadine Minaar and Props Master is David Scales. Daniel Galloway co-produces alongside Lamees Albertus and The Fugard Theatre team.

The cast features Royston Stoffels (Aunty Merle the Musical; Krismas van Map Jacobs and TV Suidooster and Arendsvlei) as Lappies; Loren Loubser (God is a Woman; Nasty Womxn, Niqabi Ninja) as Marie; Carlo Daniels (Triple Axel; District Six Kanala; G7: Okwe Bokhwe) as Riempie and  Marlon Swarts  as Vink (Die Kortstondige Raklewe van Anastacia W; In the City of Paradise and TV Sara Se Geheim).

Athol Fugard is an internationally acclaimed playwright director and occasional actor, for over half a century he has written almost forty soul-searing plays with roles for all South Africans which have moved audiences in South Africa and around the world to laughter and tears as they reflected the inhumanity of apartheid. His plays champion truth and a fundamental universal humanity.

Dr Paula Fourie is a writer and research fellow and she also holds BMus and MMus degrees from the University of Pretoria. Fourie currently holds a part-time postdoctoral fellowship at the Bern University of the Arts where she is researching Afrikaans translations of Swiss novels and plays published and performed in South Africa during the apartheid era.

“As part of our 2020 objectives, we are promoting new South African writing as well as celebrating the works of Athol Fugard, our internationally acclaimed giant of South African theatre,” says Lamees Albertus, General Manager and Producer of The Fugard Theatre. “We are delighted to combine these goals in one exciting new production, Concerning the Life of Babyboy Kleintjies.”

Concerning the Life of Babyboy Kleintjies will be performed at The Laboratory at the Adam Small Complex in Stellenbosch from 16 April until 2 May on Tuesday to Saturdays at 8pm. There are 3pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays and an additional matinee on Wednesday 29 April at 3pm. The Adam Small Complex is at 15 Victoria St, Stellenbosch Central, Stellenbosch.

Tickets from R190 to R250 can be booked through The Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554 or through The Fugard Theatre’s website at www.thefugard.com

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A star-studded cast has been announced for a new Fugard Theatre production of Athol Fugard’s masterpiece Master Harold…And The Boys which marks the start of the Fugard Theatre’s 2020 season and tenth birthday year.

Presented by Eric Abraham and The Fugard Theatre’s Master Harold…And The Boys will run in the Fugard Studio Theatre from 4 February 2020. The production will be directed by the Fugard Theatre’s Artistic Director Greg Karvellas.

The cast features Kai Luke Brummer as Hally, Desmond Dube as Sam and Siya Mayola as Willy.

Brummer is the lead  in Oliver Hermanus’ new film Moffie, which was invited to the Venice and London International Film Festivals and has been critically acclaimed across Europe.

Dube is a much-loved actor and presenter on TV and film. He was last seen on the Fugard Theatre stage in the multiple award-winning musical King Kong, which earned him a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. He also performed in I See You, a co-production with The Royal Court and Market Theatre, for which he won a Naledi Theatre Award for Best Actor and was nominated for a Fleur du Cap Theatre award.

Mayola is a writer, director and producer with his own production company. He is a seasoned film and theatre actor, and has appeared in series such as SABC TV’s drama series, Amaza, Mzanzi Magic’s Isikizi, and kykNET’s Sara se Geheim.

Master Harold…And The Boys is written by Athol Fugard and directed by Greg Karvellas. Set Design and Lighting Design is by Wolf Britz, who recently received a Fiesta award nomination for his work on Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act. Costume Design is by Widaad Albertus.

Master Harold…And The Boys is a compelling and masterful examination of the frailty of the human condition and how societal injustices force people into their prescribed roles. This production will be performed in The Fugard Studio Theatre from on Tuesday to Saturdays at 8pm with matinees on Saturday and Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets from R180 to R250 can be booked through The Fugard Theatre box office on 021 461 4554 or through The Fugard Theatre’s website at www.thefugard.com

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