Just now, Tuesday 16 March, Cape Town’s famous and historic Fugard Theatre announced that they will be closing down permanently.
The Fugard Theatre oozes history as rich and diverse as the acts which have taken to the stage, thrilling audiences for over a decade.
Athol Fugard is South Africa’s most significant and internationally acclaimed playwright who, over fifty years, has written soul-searing plays with roles for all South Africans. His work is nothing short of profound.
Fugard moved audiences in South Africa and around the world to laughter and tears as they reflected the racism, barbarity, and inhumanity of apartheid.
The theatre itself, nestled in the Sacks Futeran building at Cape Town’s District Six, with the renovated Congregational Church Hall in Caledon Street as its entrance, speaks loudly of history, storytelling, and South African culture.
Fugard Theatre founder, producer, and benefactor Eric Abraham released the following online.
“Dear Friends of The Fugard Theatre,
After a year of Covid closure, it is with great regret and sadness that I have to confirm that The Fugard Theatre will close permanently with immediate effect.
We are not persuaded that it will be Covid safe or financially viable to reopen as a theatre in the foreseeable future.
The theatre will be handed back to the owner of the freehold of the building – the board of The District 6 Museum – as a working theatre and we hope that they will be able to
use it for the benefit of the Museum and the District 6 community.
I thank our extraordinary staff for all their hard work and you, our patrons, for your support for The Fugard over the last ten years.
Stay well and take care.”
It is a sad day for South African theatre, indeed. Fugard Theatre, you will be sorely missed.
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