Review - Master Harold...and the boys

I believe I've stated repeatedly how much I enjoy the plays of Athol Fugard - I find his work incredibly powerful.  I saw his entire legacy season at Signature (a review of just one of the plays is HERE ), and I've been waiting anxiously for this revival of maybe his best-known play, Master Harold...and the boys. I'm so glad I got to see it (spoiler alert: unsurprisingly, I loved it), but it seemed particularly timely to see the show last night with all of the horrible race awfulness that's going on in this country right now.  I couldn't imagine I would cry more than I normally would at a Fugard play, but of course I did.

Master Harold...and the boys depicts a seemingly normal afternoon in the life of a teenaged white boy in South Africa alongside two black men who work for his family.  At first, you think this is a day like any other day - the boy comes in from school, he has a snack, he talks to the employees, they have a friendly rapport, they discuss schoolwork, life, complex topics.  You can see the warm and familiar relationship they have with each other, especially the boy, Hally, and the older of the employees, Sam.  They have a terrific rapport - the scene between them about 'men of magnitude' is simply spectacular. But, every now and then, a bit of racist/classist commentary sneaks into Hally's words. We the audience may be stricken, Sam simply smiles and moves on.

But when Hally gets a phone call from his mother that his alcoholic father will be coming home from the hospital, all internal hell breaks loose.  This seemingly affable boy becomes more than a sullen teenager, he becomes the young personification of racism and hate.  It is brutally hard to watch, before, during and after Hally lashes out at Sam.  The anger, horror, sadness, fear, regret, on ALL the characters' faces, is truly heartbreaking and terrifying at the same time.  It's theatrically wonderful how the air is completely sucked out of the room and your heart breaks for the relationships that have been forever changed.

The acting is superlative - all three performers are truly at the top of their game and they complement each other beautifully. Leon Addison Brown may be the first among equals, though, as Sam.  He finds so many layers of dignity, innate intelligence, empathy and finally quiet rage and a struggle to forgive, it's spectacular to see.  I had forgotten that this play is autobiographical (I'll talk more about that later) and it's clear that Fugard has written Sam as a plea for forgiveness.  Basically writing about yourself and insidiousness of institutional racism is a powerful thing to do, and Fugard is masterful in getting that below the surface throughout Master Harold...and the boys, but we're still completely shocked and horrified when it bubbles up to the top. I knew what was coming, having seen the play before, but that doesn't mean I was prepared for how I felt. Again, the tragedy of apartheid is here mixed with the terrible race relations in this country at this moment in time - it was particularly harrowing.  At least to me.

photo credit: Richard Termine

Seat neighbor-wise, the group in the row behind me came in late, with all their rustling bags.  Then they left early.  With all their rustling bags.  They were extremely rude.  The gal sitting next to me braided her hair during the entire show.  THE ENTIRE SHOW.  I guess I should be grateful she didn't leave as well. Everyone else in the house, though, seemed very engaged and there were quite a lot of gasps throughout.  A good portion of the audience stayed for the talkback afterwards, which was nice to see.  We could probably still be there, with all the questions that the moderator never got to.

I found the talkback to be fascinating.  The first question by the moderator was a bit crazy - he asked the two actors who participated if they felt doing this play after the election was even harder than before.  One of the actors gave a beautifully eloquent response that made me cry in the moment, but of course I can't remember specifics. Actually, most of the actors' answers made me cry.  I've enjoyed Master Harold...and the boys for years and, as I said above, I never really acknowledged to myself that it was autobiographical.  When the actors were describing what really happened in Fugard's life that triggered the show and how the inciting incident really played out, I was heartbroken.  But there was still a bit of a ray of hope - out of this awful, ignorant, racist incident grew a man committed to ending the racism in his country.  He endured being exiled from his homeland, yet still persevered, detailing the horrors he had witnessed and he (and his plays) must have played a part in the abolishing of apartheid.  An artist and his art did that.  Our artists must be even more committed moving forward to fight the ugliness and hate that's taking over our country right now.  Afterwards, on my way to the subway, I even saw a homeless person, asking for money with a sign that said "Donald Trump won the election, I need money to get out of the country."  I mean, come on.  This must be stopped.  I call on artists to stop it.  Athol Fugard's plays, always welcome, are now even more urgently needed than before.  Please go see this production.