Sorrows and Rejoicings
Written by Athol Fugard
Directed: Athol Fugard
Producer: Tricycle
Starring: Amrain Ismail-Essop, Denise Newman, Jennifer Steynn, Marius Weyers
Story: Explores the legacy of Apartheid as it affects two women - one white, the other black. On the surface they seem to have little in common except their love of one man, a white poet attached to the land of Karoo and the peoples of his birth.
The play has received mixed notices from the popular press: CHARLES SPENCER for DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "In this lovely new piece, Fugard seems to be exploring the man he might have become had he left his homeland when the going got rough." BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE FOR THE TIMES SAYS, " I'm sure that the guilt and demoralisation of exiles was part of the collateral damage wreaked by apartheid; but even the charismatic, emotionally resourceful Weyers has trouble making Fugard's oddly literary, sometimes even clunky, dialogue demonstrate this sad truth. NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD say it's, "discomforting to record that the latest play by this old theatre hero leaves me cold. Sorrows and Rejoicings is self-consciously precious, aimless and literary where once Fugard was simple and direct." MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, "It is a far from flawless play; but, as with the late work of Eugene O'Neill, you forgive its occasional clumsiness for its sense of lived experience and what it cost the author to write it. PETER HEPPLE for THE STAGE says the play , "lacks dramatic impetus".
External links to full reviews from newspapers...
Originally published on