Master Harold and the Boys at the Fugard Theatre

Explore the themes of friendship and racism in this thought-provoking play

The award-winning theatrical play “Master Harold...and the Boys” takes to the stage at the Fugard Theatre in District Six, Cape Town for a month-long run from Monday, 4 until Saturday, 30 March 2013.

Written by acclaimed South African playwright, author, actor and director Athol Fugard in the early 80s, the production is one of the many that delves into the intricacies of the social injustices during the Apartheid era. While the performance was originally banned from South African stages, the play premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in Connecticut in the USA and went on to enjoy a successful run and to earn a handful of awards for its outstanding production.

The storyline follows the antics and interactions of a white 17-year-old boy, Harold, nicknamed Hally (played by newcomer Alex Middlebrook), with his middle-aged black servants, Sam (portrayed by veteran Tshamano Sebe) and Willie (Themba Mchunu), whom he has known all his life, in the St. George’s Park tea room in rainy Port Elizabeth.

Even though the dramatic piece draws from Athol Fugard’s personal experiences during the 1950s, at the height of Apartheid in South Africa, the show remains timeless as it explores the nature of human beings and their relationships in the face of institutionalised racial prejudice, bigotry and hatred.

Directed by Kim Kerfoot and designed by Julia Anastasopoulos, the theatrical show is the first of the trio of productions that make up the portrait of Fugard’s life as a writer; the other two being “The Captain’s Tiger” and “The Bird Watcher”.

”Master Harold...and the Boys” was twice adapted into movie versions: a made-for-TV movie in 1985 and a feature film in 2010 starring Freddie Highmore (he played in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Hally and Ving Rhames (from Pulp Fiction fame) as Sam.

Tickets for Master Harold…and the Boys at the Fugard Theatre

Tickets for the preview shows on Friday, 1, Saturday, 2, Monday, 4, Tuesday, 5 and Wednesday, 6 March 2013 cost R130p/p, while tickets for the regular shows cost R150p/p and are available via the Fugard Theatre box office, Computicket.com and Computicket outlets. Performances run from Tuesdays to Fridays at 8pm and on Saturdays at 5pm and 8:30pm.

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Read more about this historic performance space in District Six, the Fugard Theatre.

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