Following the passing of dramatist, novelist and actor Athol Fugard, politicians have expressed their sadness, with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) calling on government to reopen the Fugard Theatre, in District Six, in Cape Town, following its “shameful closure” in March 2021.

Fugard passed away on Sunday at the age of 92.

The EFF said Fugard’s career as a playwright was defined by his commitment to “exposing the brutal realities of apartheid, giving voice to those silenced by a racist and oppressive system”.

“…at a time when state censorship and political repression sought to erase the suffering of Black South Africans, Fugard insisted on telling the truth through theatre.

“His contribution to the arts, particularly in using theatre as a weapon against apartheid, will forever be remembered as an act of defiance and a testament to the power of storytelling in the fight for justice,” the party highlighted.

The EFF said the theatre plays an important role in developing communities and in mainstreaming the concepts of justice. It accused government of failing to support the theatre industry and of failing to preserve the heritage of the South African anti-apartheid movement in the art industry.

The EFF urged stakeholders to invest in local theatre, creatives and movements in townships, institutions of higher learning and broader society.

As the EFF reflects on Fugard’s passing, it acknowledged that the injustices he exposed continue to manifest in the economic exclusion, poverty and racial inequality that still plague South Africa today.

“The struggle against oppression remains unfinished and we must continue the fight with the same courage and conviction that defined Fugard’s work,” it said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Fugard Theatre is a “fitting tribute to a man whose life and works have left an indelible footprint, and that will continue to inspire generations of creative professionals for time to come”.

Ramaphosa lauded Fugard as “an extraordinary storyteller in extraordinary times, and the moral conscience of a generation”.

“Beyond the impressive body of work that he has left behind, Athol Fugard will be remembered for being an outlier amongst the millions of white South Africans who blithely turned a blind eye to the injustices being perpetrated in their name,” he said.

Fugard also made significant contributions to South African literature.

In 2011, he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to theatre.

He was also the recipient of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver.  

In the late 1950s he worked as a clerk in the Native Commissioner’s Court in Johannesburg, which Ramaphosa said would significantly impact his worldview and shape his political consciousness.

He was renowned for collaborating across the racial divide at a time when the mixing of the races was forbidden and founded several theatre companies alongside black actors.

Fugard’s body of works include the plays No Good Friday, The Blood Knot, Master Harold and the Boys, and Sizwe Bansi is Dead.

DA spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture Joe McGluwa said Fugard’s profound contributions to South African theatre and the struggle for freedom will reverberate through generations.