The Shadow of the Hummingbird. Athol Fugard

Fourie spent the major part of her childhood in the USA and Europe, returning to South Africa in 1994 without having witnessed firsthand the turbulent final years of apartheid. She began writing as a teenager, and in 2002 won a national writing competition with a short story. She has continued her creative writing alongside her work as a musicologist and choral conductor. In 2013, she obtained her doctorate from Stellenbosch University with a dissertation on the life and work of South African musician and musical theatre composer Taliep Petersen. Her published academic work includes book reviews, interviews and journal articles. Writing in both English and Afrikaans, her poetry has appeared in several South African poetry journals. Fourie has been working with Athol Fugard since 2012. The Shadow of the Hummingbird is her first published excursion into the world of playwriting.

      Production Credits

      First performed at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, USA, The Shadow of the Hummingbird was subsequently staged in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein. Fugard returned to the stage for the first time in 15 years to play the role of Oupa in these productions.

      The South African premiere was presented by Eric Abraham and The Fugard Theatre in 2014.

      Production

      ProducersEric Abraham & Daniel Galloway

      Director, AuthorAthol Fugard

      Author of Prelude, Co-directorPaula Fourie

      Lighting DesignerMannie Manim

      Set & Costume DesignerSaul Radomsky

      Sound James Webb

      Cast

      OupaAthol Fugard

      BobaMarviantoz Baker

      Characters

      OupaA retired schoolteacher. An ailing old man in his eighties.

      BobaHis grandson. Thirteen years old.

      Setting

      Southern California