Latest news with #BoesmanandLena
The Citizen
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
WATCH: ‘The world has lost a true gentleman' – Tributes pour in for actor Wiseman Sithole
Sithole's passing comes as he was preparing to act out Athol Fugard's play, titled 'Boesman and Lena'. South African actor Wiseman Sithole has died, prompting a flood of tributes to the 51-year-old, who many remember from his work on shows like Suidooster and Summertide. 'It is with the greatest sadness that we share the shattering news of Wiseman Sithole's sudden passing. We are honoured to have worked alongside this legend of an actor,' read a statement from his agency, Emma Ress Management (ERM), confirming his passing. ERM said it would communicate details concerning his funeral and memorial service, upon his family's instruction. ALSO READ: 'A profound loss': Fashion world mourns Sun Goddess Vanya Mangaliso 'RIP my brother' Fellow actor Lee-Ann van Rooi paid tribute to Sithole, reminiscing on their time working together and sharing a smoke during breaks. 'We finally got to work together for a whole week… had plans to work together later in the year…. a colleague and friend from the time when Stokvel and Fishy Fashions were 2.5 day shoot rotation swing sets. For TV2,' wrote Van Rooi. 'We minded our own business but now and again would enjoy a car park smoke and a story. I don't smoke anymore and this is the last of your story. R.I.P my brother.' ALSO READ: SA mourns death of playwright and author Athol Fugard Preparing for Boesman and Lena Sithole's passing comes as he, together with Van Rooi and others, was preparing to act out a play written by recently deceased Athol Fugard, titled Boesman and Lena. The story is centred on the struggles of a coloured couple, Boesman and Lena, as they are forced to wander from place to place, highlighting the human cost of apartheid's oppressive policies. In the upcoming play, Sithole was to depict Outa, an old Xhosa man in the story. 'In as much as it addresses some political challenges in South Africa, it is also about love between this couple, Boesman and Lena. I'm privileged to be one of the people who would do this version of the play, it is interesting we will be doing it in Afrikaans,' said Sithole recently in a video. Director of the play and actor Christo Davids said he was deeply saddened by Sithole's passing. 'I'm deeply saddened and shocked by this news. My deepest condolences to his entire family and those close to him,' said Davids. 'The world has lost a true gentleman. Committed to his craft with unwavering dedication to his fellow actors and colleagues. NOW READ: WATCH: Ladysmith Black Mambazo honoured with special award celebrating 65 years in music
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Athol Fugard: Death of a great South African playwright
Athol Fugard, who has died aged 92, was widely acclaimed as one of South Africa's greatest playwrights. The son of an Afrikaner mother, he was best known for his politically charged plays challenging the racist system of apartheid. Paying tribute to Fugard, South Africa's Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie hailed him as "a fearless storyteller who laid bare the harsh realities of apartheid through his plays". "We were cursed with apartheid, but blessed with great artists who shone a light on its impact and helped to guide us out of it. We owe a huge debt to this late, wonderful man," McKenzie added. Fugard wrote more than 30 plays in a career that spanned 70 years, making his mark with The Blood Knot in 1961. It was the first play in South Africa with a black and white actor - Fugard himself - performing in a front of a multiracial audience, before the apartheid regime introduced laws prohibiting mixed casts and audiences. The Blood Knot catapulted Fugard onto the international stage - with the play shown in the US, and adapted for British television. It led to the apartheid regime confiscating his passport, but it strengthened Fugard's resolve to keep breaking racial barriers and exposing the injustices of apartheid. He went on to work with the Serpent Players, a group of black actors, and performed in black townships, despite harassment from the apartheid regime's security forces. Fugard's celebrated plays included Boesman and Lena, which looked at the difficult circumstances of a mixed-race couple. Having premiered in 1969, it was made into a film in 2000 starring Danny Glover and Angela Bassett. His novel, Tsotsi, was made into a film, winning the 2006 Oscar for best foreign language movie. Other well-known plays by him include Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island, which he co-wrote with the actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona. In a simple tribute on X, Kani posted: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend Athol Fugard. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Elder 🌹" Fugard won several awards for his work, and received a lifetime achievement honour at the prestigious Tony awards in 2011, while Time magazine described him in the 1980s as the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world. "Apartheid defined me, that is true... But I am proud of the work that came out of it, that carries my name," Fugard told the AFP news agency in 1995. Fugard feared that the end of apartheid in 1994 could leave him with little to do, but he still found enough material to write. In a BBC interview in 2010, he said that he shared the view of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu that "we have lost our way" as a nation. "I think the present society in South Africa needs the vigilance of writers, every bit as much as the old one did. "It is a responsibility that young writers, playwrights, must really wake up to and understand that responsibility is theirs, just as it was mine and a host of other writers in the earlier years." Additional reporting by the BBC's Elettra Neysmith. How royal divorce papers have shaken the Zulu kingdom Is it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats? Even in his final seconds of life, first gay imam pushed boundaries Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Athol Fugard: Death of a great South African playwright
Athol Fugard, who has died aged 92, was widely acclaimed as one of South Africa's greatest playwrights. The son of an Afrikaner mother, he was best known for his politically charged plays challenging the racist system of apartheid. Paying tribute to Fugard, South Africa's Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie hailed him as "a fearless storyteller who laid bare the harsh realities of apartheid through his plays". "We were cursed with apartheid, but blessed with great artists who shone a light on its impact and helped to guide us out of it. We owe a huge debt to this late, wonderful man," McKenzie added. Fugard wrote more than 30 plays in a career that spanned 70 years, making his mark with The Blood Knot in 1961. It was the first play in South Africa with a black and white actor - Fugard himself - performing in a front of a multiracial audience, before the apartheid regime introduced laws prohibiting mixed casts and audiences. The Blood Knot catapulted Fugard onto the international stage - with the play shown in the US, and adapted for British television. It led to the apartheid regime confiscating his passport, but it strengthened Fugard's resolve to keep breaking racial barriers and exposing the injustices of apartheid. He went on to work with the Serpent Players, a group of black actors, and performed in black townships, despite harassment from the apartheid regime's security forces. Fugard's celebrated plays included Boesman and Lena, which looked at the difficult circumstances of a mixed-race couple. Having premiered in 1969, it was made into a film in 2000 starring Danny Glover and Angela Bassett. His novel, Tsotsi, was made into a film, winning the 2006 Oscar for best foreign language movie. Other well-known plays by him include Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island, which he co-wrote with the actors John Kani and Winston Ntshona. In a simple tribute on X, Kani posted: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend Athol Fugard. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Elder 🌹" Fugard won several awards for his work, and received a lifetime achievement honour at the prestigious Tony awards in 2011, while Time magazine described him in the 1980s as the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world. "Apartheid defined me, that is true... But I am proud of the work that came out of it, that carries my name," Fugard told the AFP news agency in 1995. Fugard feared that the end of apartheid in 1994 could leave him with little to do, but he still found enough material to write. In a BBC interview in 2010, he said that he shared the view of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu that "we have lost our way" as a nation. "I think the present society in South Africa needs the vigilance of writers, every bit as much as the old one did. "It is a responsibility that young writers, playwrights, must really wake up to and understand that responsibility is theirs, just as it was mine and a host of other writers in the earlier years." Additional reporting by the BBC's Elettra Neysmith. How royal divorce papers have shaken the Zulu kingdom Is it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats? Even in his final seconds of life, first gay imam pushed boundaries Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
BBC News
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Athol Fugard: A great South African playwright
Athol Fugard, who has died aged 92, was widely acclaimed as one of South Africa's greatest son of an Afrikaner mother, he was best known for his politically charged plays challenging the racist system of apartheid. Paying tribute to Fugard, South Africa's Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie hailed him as "a fearless storyteller who laid bare the harsh realities of apartheid through his plays". "We were cursed with apartheid, but blessed with great artists who shone a light on its impact and helped to guide us out of it. We owe a huge debt to this late, wonderful man," McKenzie wrote more than 30 plays in a career that spanned 70 years, making his mark with The Blood Knot in 1961. It was the first play in South Africa with a black and white actor - Fugard himself - performing in a front of a multiracial audience, before the apartheid regime introduced laws prohibiting mixed casts and Blood Knot catapulted Fugard onto the international stage - with the play shown in the US, and adapted for British television. It led to the apartheid regime confiscating his passport, but it strengthened Fugard's resolve to keep breaking racial barriers and exposing the injustices of went on to work with the Serpent Players, a group of black actors, and performed in black townships, despite harassment from the apartheid regime's security forces. Fugard's celebrated plays included Boesman and Lena, which looked at the difficult circumstances of a mixed-race couple. Having premiered in 1969, it was made into a film in 2000 starring Danny Glover and Angela novel, Tsotsi, was made into a film, winning the 2006 Oscar for best foreign language movie. Other well-known plays by him include Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island, which he co-wrote with the actors John Kani and Winston a simple tribute on X, Kani posted: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend Athol Fugard. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Elder 🌹"Fugard won several awards for his work, and received a lifetime achievement honour at the prestigious Tony awards in 2011, while Time magazine described him in the 1980s as the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world. "Apartheid defined me, that is true... But I am proud of the work that came out of it, that carries my name," Fugard told the AFP news agency in feared that the end of apartheid in 1994 could leave him with little to do, but he still found enough material to a BBC interview in 2010, he said that he shared the view of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu that "we have lost our way" as a nation. "I think the present society in South Africa needs the vigilance of writers, every bit as much as the old one did. "It is a responsibility that young writers, playwrights, must really wake up to and understand that responsibility is theirs, just as it was mine and a host of other writers in the earlier years."Additional reporting by the BBC's Elettra Neysmith. More BBC stories on South Africa: How royal divorce papers have shaken the Zulu kingdomIs it checkmate for South Africa after Trump threats?Even in his final seconds of life, first gay imam pushed boundaries Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
