Stories with magnitude are immortal and with his deeply prophetic Master Harold ... and the boys, Fugard shows how his profound insight into the human condition can change each person who leaves the theatre.
Although Fugard stated that the play is not autobiographical or a memoir, but a work of fiction, it is apparent how his own life experiences influenced his writing: as a child Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard was known as Hally, his mother operated a general store and then a lodging house, and his Irish father was a disabled jazz pianist - in the play, set in 1950, young Hally watches over his mother's tearoom in St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth whilst she is taking care of his disabled father.
Fugard's restrained realism was fused into a dramatic alternative fictional reality with relatable characters speaking a truth that cannot be ignored. In fact, after all these years it seems as if the words fell on deaf ears and we are hearing it for the first time, showing that sometimes we have to be reminded of what causes emotional scars that mostly never really heal.
When the play was first performed, and initially banned locally, it became a window into a futuristic South Africa where hope triumphs - today it is a nostalgic journey into a wary past.
Snugly embedded in his idealistic existence, 17-year-old Hally believes in a South Africa where an "Intrepid social reformer with magnitude" and "historical significance" will drastically change the state of affairs; this resolute rebel governed by an age in which there are no miracles, is ruled by the "law of perpetual disappointment".
The real-world Hally and his black servants, Sam and Willie, find themselves in is world of physical and emotional abuse, a world in which "harmless pleasures" allow them to escape from the forsaken tearoom that has become their prison.
Hally is a non-believer fed by the truth of a real life in which there are no dance steps and in which collisions end up in "big bruises"; dismissing his servants who are disciples of dreams and believe in a world without collisions where there are no accidents.
Sam firmly upholds his vision and makes it clear that "without a dream we will not know what we want", jokingly referring to the United Nations as a "dancing school for politicians".
Like a naughty child who is speaking out of turn, Sam has to face Hally, a peacemaker for whom "Home Sweet Home" is hell and who despises their childish dream, pointing out that you can never leave those who run around like "spiders with broken legs" out of your imaginings. For Hally it is vital to use one's imagination sensibly and racism is a "bloody good joke".
It cuts to the bone when Master Harold surfaces as a renegade who feels safe in his white skin; when Hally destroys Sam's memories and turns them into filth, the little boy who screamed for help is more helpless and lost despite his arrogant confidence.
It is Sam who awakens a profound awareness that one should never despise others for being weak, but rather feel ashamed; when he made Hally a kite is was to show him that there are things we can be proud of and look up to.
Fugard brilliantly reveals that if Hally is not careful he will be sitting alone on his "Whites only" bench without a kite in the sky to look up to, and then truly hits home when he states that nobody has to sit there by themselves and all alone. All you have to do is stand up and walk away.
The silent tension that hangs over Master Harold and his boys is like a monstrous dark shadow of a forbidden past and boldly challenges their ideals.
Fugard's genius becomes truly apparent when he ultimately proclaims the importance of dreaming and echoes Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech; for Fugard and his boys life is like ballroom dancing: "You lead, I follow."
The brittle kinship and strained reticence in the play create a charged anxiety that you can cut like a knife; the characters walk a tightrope during the play, constantly balancing the best and worst of human nature.
This dynamic seesaw duel infuses Fugard's drama with an emotional poignancy; even when they smile we can see the tears in their eyes and feel the hurt in their hearts.
Director Kim Kerfoot skilfully brings Fugard's play to life with intelligence, insight and delicate sensitiveness.
Sixteen-year-old Alex Middlebrook is sensational in his professional stage debut; he delivers a cold-and-calculated militancy when he assumes his adult persona, and reveals the fragile demeanour of a bruised young boy with heartfelt passion.
Tshamano Sebe, who has already been crowned with FNB Vita and Fleur de Cap awards for his performance of Sam, infuses a well-worn character with a fresh sensibility that is astounding. Themba Mchunu is equally brilliant with his portrayal of Willie; he turns an inherently monstrous and brutal character into a lost soul searching for meaning.
Director Kerfoot never imposes himself or his astute vision on Fugard's play, rather allowing the narrative and its characters to tell a story that deserves to be experienced more than once.
It is understandable why Athol Fugard wept when he saw this play on its Fugard Theatre opening night on 7 March, 2013. It is a not-to-be-missed experienced that allows a play of magnitude to touch the hearts of a new generation. It is also a pertinent reminder why theatre is the lifeblood of people who need to gain a fresh and invigorating perspective on life and the world through great storytellers like Fugard.
Master Harold and the Boys is at Cape Town's Fugard Theatre until 30 March. Tickets are available from Computicket or by calling the Fugard Theatre box office on +27 (0)21 461 4554. Generous discounts are available for Friends of the Fugard, which you can sign up for by calling the box office or by going to www.thefugard.com.
Read more about Master Harold ... and the boys at www.writingstudio.co.za/page4561.html
