Complete Works of Athol Fugard

 

COMPLETE WORKS OF ATHOL FUGARD

 

For those encountering Athol Fugard for the first time, here is an introduction to his remarkable body of work. Athol Fugard (OIS, HonFRSL) was born on June 11, 1932, and passed away on March 8, 2025. A South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director, Fugard is widely regarded as South Africa’s greatest playwright. In 1985, Time magazine hailed him as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world."

Throughout his illustrious career, Fugard published over thirty plays, gaining international acclaim for his profound impact on theater and his ability to address the complex social and political issues of his time. His works remain a testament to his mastery of storytelling and his unwavering commitment to human rights, justice, and the struggles of oppressed peoples.

Below is a comprehensive list of his complete works, as compiled by the International Writers Association (IWA International):

1. Klaas and the Devil (1956)
2. The Cell (1957)
3. No-Good Friday (1958)
4. Non-Gogo (1959)
5. The Blood Knot (1961); later revised and entitled Blood Knot (1987)
6. Hello and Goodbye (1965)
7. The Coat (1966)
8. People Are Living There (1968)
9. The Last Bus (1969)
10. Boesman and Lena (1969)
11. Friday's Bread on Monday (1970)
12. Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (1972) (developed with John Kani, and Winston Ntshona in workshops)
13. The Island (1972) (developed with John Kani, and Winston Ntshona in workshops)
14. Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act (1972)
15. Dimetos (1975)
16. Orestes (1978)
17. A Lesson from Aloes (1978)
18. The Drummer (1980)
19. "Master Harold"...and the Boys (1982)
20. The Road to Mecca (1984)
21. A Place with the Pigs: a personal parable (1987)
22. My Children! My Africa! (1989)
23. My Life (1992)
24. Playland (1993)
25. Valley Song (1996)
26. The Captain's Tiger: a memoir for the stage (1997)
27. Sorrows and Rejoicings (2001)
28. Exits and Entrances (2004)
29. Booitjie and the Oubaas (2006)
30. Victory (2007)
31. Coming Home (2009)
32. Have You Seen Us (2009)
33. The Train Driver (2010)
34. The Shadow of the Hummingbird (2014)
35. The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek (2016)
36. Concerning the Life of Babyboy Kleintjies (2022) (co-written with Paula Fourie)

Here is the arranged bibliography in chronological order:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Statements: [Three Plays]
   Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press (OUP), 1974. ISBN 0-19-211385-2 (10). ISBN 978-0-19-211385-6 (13). ISBN 0-19-281170-3 (10). ISBN 978-0-19-281170-7 (13).
   (Co-authored with John Kani and Winston Ntshona)
2. Three Port Elizabeth Plays: Blood Knot; Hello and Goodbye; and Boesman and Lena
   Oxford and New York, 1974. ISBN 0-19-211366-6.
3. Sizwe Bansi Is Dead and The Island
   New York: Viking Press, 1976. ISBN 0-670-64784-5.
4. Dimetos and Two Early Plays
   Oxford and New York: OUP, 1977. ISBN 0-19-211390-9.
5. Boesman and Lena and Other Plays
   Oxford and New York: OUP, 1980. ISBN 0-19-570197-6.
6. Selected Plays of Fugard: Notes. Ed. Dennis Walder
   London: Longman, 1980. Beirut: York Press, 1980. ISBN 0-582-78129-9.
7. Tsotsi: a novel
   New York: Random House, 1980. ISBN 978-0-394-51384-3.
8. A Lesson from Aloes: A Play
   Oxford and New York: OUP, 1981.
9. Marigolds in August
   A.D. Donker, 1982. ISBN 0-86852-008-X.
10. Boesman and Lena
    Oxford and New York: OUP, 1983. ISBN 0-19-570331-6.
11. People Are Living There
    Oxford and New York: OUP, 1983. ISBN 0-19-570332-4.
12. "Master Harold"...and the Boys
    New York and London: Penguin, 1984. ISBN 0-14-048187-7.
13. Notebooks 1960–1977
    New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984. ISBN 0-394-53755-6.
14. The Road to Mecca: A Play in Two Acts
    London: Faber and Faber, 1985. ISBN 0-571-13691-5.
    (Suggested by the life and work of Helen Martins of New Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa.)
15. Selected Plays
    Oxford and New York: OUP, 1987. ISBN 0-19-281929-1.
    (Includes: "Master Harold"...and the Boys; Blood Knot (new version); Hello and Goodbye; Boesman and Lena.)
16. A Place with the Pigs: a personal parable
    London: Faber and Faber, 1988. ISBN 0-571-15114-0.
17. My Children! My Africa! and Selected Shorter Plays
    Ed. and introd. Stephen Gray. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand UP, 1990. ISBN 1-86814-117-9.
18. Blood Knot and Other Plays
    New York: Theatre Communications Group, 1991. ISBN 1-55936-019-4.
19. Playland and Other Worlds
    Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand UP, 1992. ISBN 1-86814-219-1.
20. The Township Plays. Ed. and introd. Dennis Walder
    Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1993. ISBN 0-19-282925-4 (10). ISBN 978-0-19-282925-2 (13).
    (Includes: No-good Friday, Nongogo, The Coat, Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, and The Island.)
21. Cousins: A Memoir
    Johannesburg: Witwatersrand UP, 1994. ISBN 1-86814-278-7.
22. Hello and Goodbye
    Oxford and New York: OUP, 1994. ISBN 0-19-571099-1.
23. Valley Song
    London: Faber and Faber, 1996. ISBN 0-571-17908-8.
24. The Captain's Tiger: A Memoir for the Stage
    Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press, 1997. ISBN 1-86814-324-4.
25. Athol Fugard: Plays
    London: Faber and Faber, 1998. ISBN 0-571-19093-6.
26. Interior Plays
    Oxford and New York: OUP, 2000. ISBN 0-19-288035-7.
27. Port Elizabeth Plays
    Oxford and New York: OUP, 2000. ISBN 0-19-282529-1.
28. Sorrows and Rejoicings
    New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2002. ISBN 1-55936-208-1.
29. Exits and Entrances
    New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2004. ISBN 0-8222-2041-5.

CO-AUTHORED WITH JOHN KANI AND WINSTON NTSHONA

1. Statements: [Three Plays]
   1974. By Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona. Rev. ed. Oxford and New York: OUP, 1978. ISBN 0-19-281170-3 (10). ISBN 978-0-19-281170-7 (13).
   ("Two workshop productions devised by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, and a new play"; includes: Sizwe Bansi Is Dead and The Island, and Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act.)

CO-AUTHORED WITH ROSS DEVENISH

1. The Guest: an episode in the life of Eugene Marais
   By Athol Fugard and Ross Devenish. Craighall: A. D. Donker, 1977. ISBN 0-949937-36-3.
   (Die besoeker: 'n episode in die lewe van Eugene Marais. Trans. into Afrikaans by Wilma Stockenstrom. Craighall: A. D. Donker, 1977. ISBN 0-949937-43-6.)

FILMOGRAPHY

Films adapted from Fugard's plays and novel

1. Boesman and Lena (1974), dir. Ross Devenish
2. The Guest: An Episode in the Life of Eugene Marais (1977)
3. Marigolds in August (1980), dir. Ross Devenish
4. "Master Harold"...and the Boys (1984), TV movie, dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg, first broadcast on Showtime
5. The Road to Mecca (1991), co-dir. by Fugard and Peter Goldsmid (screen adapt.)
6. Boesman and Lena (2000), dir. John Berry
7. Tsotsi (2005), screen adapt. and dir. Gavin Hood; 2005 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
8. "Master Harold"...and the Boys (2010), dir. Lonny Price

FILM ROLES

1. Boesman and Lena (1974) as Boesman
2. The Guest: An Episode in the Life of Eugene Marais (1977) as Eugène Marais
3. Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979) as Professor Skridlov
4. Marigolds in August (1980) as Paulus Olifant
5. Gandhi (1982) as General Jan Smuts
6. The Killing Fields (1984) as Doctor Sundesval
7. The Road to Mecca (1991) as Reverend Marius Byleveld