Athol Fugard Quotes

South African playwright (1932–2025)

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Athol Fugard OIS HonFRSL (11 June 1932 – 8 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid. Some of these have also been adapted for film.

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Alternative Names: Harold Athol Lannigan Fugard • Athol Harold Lanigan Fugard

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Hally: It’s a bloody awful world when you come to think of it. People can be real bastards.
Sam: That’s the way it is, Hally.
Hally: It doesn’t have to be that way. There is something called progress you know. We don’t exactly burn people at the stake anymore.

Anybody who thinks there's nothing wrong with this world needs to have his head examined. Just when things are going all right, without fail someone or something will come along and spoil everything. Somebody should write that down as a fundamental law of the Universe. The principle of perpetual disappointment. If there is a God who created this world, he should scrap it and try again.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

He's a white man and that's good enough for you.

Not just me. What I'm saying to you is that everybody's got it.

No smell doth stink as sweet as labour, Tis joyous times when man and man Do work and sweat in common toil.When all the world’s my neighbor.

Are you really worried about your children, friend, or are you just worried about yourself and your bloody name? Wake up, man! Use that bloody book and with your pay on Friday you'll have a real chance to do something for them.

There’s no question he’s smarter than I am, but does that give him the right to call me a name like that?

Mr. Sam was our father. He knew about our dreams and ambitions.

I thought I was keeping it straight and I’ve suddenly wondered whether it is straight, and whether it matters whether it is or not.

I mean, how do I wash off yours and your father's filth?...I've also failed. A long time ago I promised myself I would do something, but you've just shown me...Master Harold...that I've failed.

I think I spent more time in there with you chaps than anywhere else in that dump. And do you blame me? Nothing but bloody misery wherever you went."

Don’t talk crap, Hally! You don’t even know what the word ‘sympathy’ means.

Betty Jones. Roodepoort. Young and pleasing personality. I’d like to correspond with gentlemen friends of maturity. No teenagers need reply. My hobby at the moment is histori¬ cal films, but I’m prepared to go back to last year’s, which was autograph hunting. I would appreciate a photo¬ graph

I don't want to lose my name, Buntu.