Athol Fugard’s only novel Tsotsi is a powerful and turbulent story set in the 1950s about Tsotsi, a Sophiatown gangster, who stalks the streets leaving pain and terror in his wake. Derelict and deprived, he treats life as it has always treated him, until a chance encounter brings about a strange redemption. This is the only novel thus far by South Africa’s foremost playwright. It is a white man’s vision of a black ghetto, seen with nightmare clarity and insight.

Born in Middleburg, Cape Province in 1932, Fugard has written for the theatre and acted in over a dozen of his own plays. His works are performed widely throughout the English-speaking world and have been translated into several languages.

Acclaimed South African playwright Athol Fugard brings to the screen the same powers of language, drama, perception and compassion that have made him one of the most compelling voices on the modern stage.

Marigolds in August, a gripping and moving tale of competition and companionship between squatters in the bush on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, allows Fugard to explore the troubled life of his homeland with the intimacy and detail specific to the camera’s eye.

In The Guest – An Episode in the Life of Eugene Marais, Fugard draws on the biography of the Afrikaans poet, lawyer, journalist and naturalist to portray the torment and triumph of a genius struggling to overcome his addiction to morphine. This book contains useful information on the characters in each screenplay as well as short notes explaining certain aspects of the text.

Athol Fugard has been working in theatre as a playwright, director and actor since the mid-fifties in South Africa, England and the United States. His plays have been produced for major stages and screens throughout the world.

Ross Devenish is an award-winning director whose previous work includes the internationally acclaimed film version of Fugard's Boesman and Lena.