Boesman and Lena (2000)

Interesting facts

Boesman and Lena is a small-cast play by South African playwright Athol Fugard, set in the Swartkops mudflats outside of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. It features a "Coloured" man and woman walking from one shanty town to another, and explores the effect of apartheid on a few individuals.

Background

Fugard focused on non-white characters and explored social issues, protesting apartheid. He said that the play was inspired by an incident in 1965 when Fugard was driving along a rural road in South Africa. He noticed an old woman walking along the road in the boiling hot sun, miles from anywhere, and offered her a lift. She was overcome and cried with gratitude. She told him that her husband had just died and she was walking to another farm.

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