Theatre - An Art and Term Paper

Most of Fugard's plays stand as a proof of reality reflected in theatre as an art of real life. Athol Fugard's play My Children! My Africa reflects a cruel reality of his times: South Africa's dehumanizing system of apartheid laws that denied freedom to blacks. Worried that his country would never live in peace, Fugard wrote the play in hopes that the polarization between blacks and whites would end and world will know peace, freedom and understanding between each other. The play is based on a true incident and gives good insights into the situation in South Africa.

My Children, My Africa" is inspired by real events and describes a teacher's attempt (Mr. M) to bring understanding between two of his students: one is a middle class white girl - Isabel - and the other one is a brilliant black boy - Thami - who grew up in Coketown ghetto. The path toward understanding each other is marked by pain, but in the end brings respect and acceptance between the two of them.

This humane and dedicated teacher who believes in the power of ideas, not stones, inspires the minds of the enthusiastic white schoolgirl and black schoolboy and changes their lives forever. The play is a "timeless and powerfully poetic work about race, justice, fundamentalism, freedom, and self-knowledge," themes that we can find in many plays performed on theatre stages around the world.

Watching a play performing on a stage can determine us reconsider, doubt or confirm our opinion, goals and philosophy of life, searching new answer to new questions. Theatres are aimed to create values in society, educate audience and encourage positive social change.In the effort to react imaginatively to current events, theatre productions often acquire subtle connections to current political and social issues. Fugard was fascinated about "the living experience" in plays performed in theatre: the actual, the real, the immediate, there right before our eyes, like a scene from real life. A real good play is the one which creates an atmosphere of intimacy with the audience in which the audience feels inspired to share the most joyful and painful experiences of life. Further more, a good play is the one that shares a strong concern with the basic questions of man's existence and deal with those questions in a poignant, contemporary way and when a play's concerns burrow into the audience's mind, where they gestate and resonate with ideas, values and thoughts of people.

Bibliography

Fugard, Athol. My Children! My Africa!

http://www.wilmatheater.org/seasons/2006-2007%20Shows/Africa/OpenStages_MyAfrica.pdf.Retrieved on December 14, 2006

Stephenson, Leonard to Perform "My Children, My Africa. http://www.hope.edu/pr/pressreleases/content/view/full/1509.Retrieved on December 14, 2006

Theatre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre.Retrieved on December 14, 2006 http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/122138.Retrieved on December 14, 2006

Theatre." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 12 Dec. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation. 13 Dec. 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre

Fugard, Athol. "My Children! My Africa!" The Wilma Theater. 12 Dec. 2006 http://www.wilmatheater.org/seasons/2006-2007%20Shows/Africa/OpenStages_MyAfrica.pdf

Stephenson, Leonard to Perform "My Children, My Africa." 2006. Hope College. 12 Dec. 2006 http://www.hope.edu/pr/pressreleases/content/view/full/1509

On the Internet at http://www.theatermania.com/content/show.cfm/show/122138.....