The Fugard mss., 1918-1997 contains writings by South African writer Athol Fugard (1932-). Fugard was born June 11, 1932 in Middelburg, Cape Province, South Africa. He began writing in 1950, at first short stories and a novel that he subsequently destroyed, and then as a journalist. Fugard attended institutions in South Africa that include Port Elizabeth Technical College from 1946-1950 and the University of Cape Town from 1950-1953. He left the university in 1953, however, to join the crew of a British tramp steamer from Sudan and completed a round-the-world voyage in 1954. He wrote freelance articles in Port Elizabeth, South Africa for the Evening Post, and was a reporter for the South African Broadcasting Corporation in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town from 1955-1957. In 1956 he married South African actress Sheila Meiring and developed an interest in writing plays. Together they founded the Circle Players, a theatre workshop, in Cape Town and the performance of his first play, Klaas and The Devil, which is unpublished, took place there also in 1956. Between 1958-1989 many of his plays were performed by various theatrical organizations that he co-founded, including New Africa Group, Serpent Players, Ijingle Company in London, and the Space Experimental Theatre in Cape Town. His plays have been performed internationally from Cape Town, South Africa, to London, New York, Los Angeles, and Brazil. Most have been published and a few have been adapted for BBC Television and for film. His works often illustrate the political and social dilemmas of living under the apartheid system in South Africa. Theater took on new direction through Fugard as he directed, acted, wrote, and composed plays with the actors who performed in them.