In his introduction to this collection, Stephen Gray states that Fugard seems naturally to be most at ease when working in compact dense forms'. This collection, first published in 1990, brought together all the available shorter plays by Athol Fugard not previously accessible to readers and performers. These plays represent crucial stages of Fugard's development as a great playwright and theatre practitioner. Included in this collection are: 'The Occupation' – a screenplay; 'The Coat' – an actor's exercise; 'Mille Maglia' – a play for television; 'Orestes' – a laboratory theatre script; and 'The Drummer' – an improvisation. The collection concludes with 'My Children! My Africa!', first produced at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg in 1989, which at the time enjoyed the longest run ever of a new play in South Africa. More than 30 years after the end apartheid, it remains a compelling and relevant play that is still widely performed.
