Boesman and Lena by Athol Fugard

Boesman and Lena (Fugard's Four Plays in Oxford Softcover, 1981)

Four Landmark Plays by South Africa's Foremost Playwright, Including Boesman and Lena, with an Introduction by the Author

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Boesman and Lena: and other plays
• Author: Athol Fugard
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 1981
• ISBN-10: 0195701976
• Edition Details: First South African Edition, Second Impression. Collected plays with an introduction by the author.
• Binding: Publisher's printed red card wrappers, perfect bound.
• Physical Format: Softcover, medium to large format. Collected edition of four plays with an authorial introduction.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Good (G)
• Exterior / Wraps: The red printed card wrappers show obvious wear, with white scuffing and abrasion marks across both covers. The corners are worn and bumped, and the edges are chipped and creased. The spine is sunned to an orange-brown, with faded lettering and chipping and flaking at the spine edges and tail. The back cover has some creasing and scratches. A well-used copy, offered honestly as such.
• Interior: The title and copyright pages are legible, with toning to the paper. No inscriptions, stamps or bookplates are visible on the preliminary pages.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published by Oxford University Press in Cape Town in 1981, this collection brings together four plays by Athol Fugard: The Blood Knot, People Are Living There, Hello and Goodbye and Boesman and Lena, with an introduction by the author.

Boesman and Lena is set on the Swartkops mudflats outside Port Elizabeth and follows a Coloured man and woman as they walk from one shanty town to another, exploring the effect of apartheid on their lives. Fugard has said it was inspired by a 1965 encounter with an old woman walking along a road in the burning sun. The play premiered at Rhodes University in 1969, and the US premiere followed off-Broadway in 1970 with James Earl Jones and Ruby Dee.

Fugard described Boesman and Lena as part of a family trilogy with Hello and Goodbye, and both are gathered here alongside his earlier work. The play has since become a set work for schools in post-1994 South Africa, which makes this collection a useful companion for students and for collectors of South African theatre and apartheid-era literature.

Author Profile: Athol Fugard

Athol Fugard (born Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard, Middelburg, 11 June 1932; died Stellenbosch, 8 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. His output includes more than thirty plays, as well as journals, novels, short stories and screenplays.

Among his best-known works are The Blood Knot (1961), Sizwe Bansi Is Dead (1972) and "Master Harold"... and the Boys (1982). His novel Tsotsi was filmed in 2006 and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and he received a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2011.

Boesman and Lena Fugard · Athol Fugard plays · Fugard The Blood Knot · South African apartheid drama · Hello and Goodbye Fugard · Oxford University Press Cape Town 1981 · South African theatre collectible