WRITTEN BY ATHOL FUGARD


DIRECTED BY GORDON EDELSTEIN


THRUST STAGE


JANUARY 15–FEBRUARY 28, 2010

THE PLAY

Time magazine calls Athol Fugard “the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world.” Now South Africa’s master dramatist comes back to Berkeley Rep with a new show: Coming Home. Ten years after running off to the city to pursue her dreams, Veronika returns in rags. Among her meager belongings, she carries a desperate secret—and determination to plant the seeds of a new life for her son. It’s a “sad, sweet, and gently moving” show, says the New York Times, “a beautifully acted production directed by Gordon Edelstein.” In Coming Home, Fugard once again confronts the hard truths of his homeland while celebrating the power of hope.

THE PLAYERS

Athol Fugard’s scripts have earned countless accolades, including the Academy Award, Obie Award and Tony Award. Berkeley Rep produced three of his previous plays: A Lesson from Aloes, The Road to Mecca and Valley Song.

Gordon Edelstein is artistic director of Long Wharf Theatre, where this show had its world premiere. He has staged acclaimed productions in London, New York and across America.

THE BUZZ

“The greatest playwright writing in English since Shakespeare.”—New York Times

“As one might expect from a writer of fierce commitment to political and social justice, Coming Home quietly condemns the shameful policies of the South African government, which failed to confront the reality of AIDS or to offer the necessary drugs to its impoverished citizens as they became available, resulting in untold thousands of unnecessary deaths. But as always with Mr. Fugard, censure of policy comes only through careful observation of its human costs. Mr. Fugard doesn’t need to raise his voice, or even have Veronica raise hers, to make his points…Ms. Ruff gives a superb performance.”—New York Times

“This great writer has given us another unforgettable glimpse into modest lives of unfathomable grandeur…It’s a tribute to Fugard’s skill as a playwright—and Ruff’s as an actress—that the play manages to skirt the shoals of bathos while boldly, methodically, and often humorously charting a course for certain heartbreak.”—Theatermania