THE RETURN OF THE MYTH: ATHOL FUGARD AND THE CLASSICS

Since the Greeks it has been difficult for any playwright writing in the West to avoid the influence of the Classics. The Classics have inspired many, not only with those fundamental themes that resonate in man’s psyche, but with the myths that are part of our cultural heritage. The South African playwright Athol Fugard (born in 1932) lived through the rise and fall of Apartheid (1948-93), that oppressive regime that had one set of laws for people of color, and another for the whites in power. Without a flourishing theater tradition in South Africa, Fugard had to create one, so he adopted the ancient Greeks.3