List of notable or famous playwrights from South Africa, with bios and photos, including the top playwrights born in South Africa and even some popular playwrights who immigrated to South Africa. If you're trying to find out the names of famous South African playwrights then this list is the perfect resource for you. These playwrights are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known playwright from South Africa is included when available.
This list is made up of a variety of people, including Nadine Gordimer and John Kani.
This historic playwrights from South Africa list can help answer the questions "Who are some South African playwrights of note?" and "Who are the most famous playwrights from South Africa?" These prominent playwrights of South Africa may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected South African playwrights.
Use this list of renowned South African playwrights to discover some new playwrights that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. {#nodes}
Born in Phalaborwa, South Africa on 28 September 1971, Anton Robert Krueger is a South African playwright, poet and academic. His plays have been staged in South Africa, as well as in England, Wales, Australia, the USA, Monaco, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile. He has published under the pseudonyms of Martin de Porres, Robert Krueger, A.R. Krueger, Perd Booysen (in collaboration with Pravasan Pillay) and Sybrand Baard (in collaboration with Werner Pretorious).
Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard OIS (born 11 June 1932) is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in South African English. He is best known for his political plays opposing the system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy Award-winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood. Fugard was an adjunct professor of playwriting, acting and directing in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of California, San Diego. For the academic year 2000–2001, he was the IU Class of 1963 Wells Scholar Professor at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana. He is the recipient of many awards, honours, and honorary degrees, including the 2005 Order of Ikhamanga in Silver "for his excellent contribution and achievements in the theatre" from the government of South Africa. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Age: 91
Birthplace: South Africa, Middelburg, Eastern Cape
Photo: user uploaded image
Ben Voss
Ben Voss (born 3 May 1973) is a South African comedian, actor and playwright. He has been a professional actor, playwright and producer since 1998 and is best known for his portrayal of fictional character, Beauty Ramapelepele.
Dana Snyman is an award-winning South African journalist, writer and playwright.
Snyman was born in Stellenbosch and matriculated from Nylstroom High School. He later followed a journalism course at the Pretoria Technikon before joining the Afrikaans newspaper Beeld as a crime reporter.
Three years later he became a journalist at Huisgenoot magazine, where he worked for ten years. As of 2007, Snyman is the travel editor of Weg! magazine.
His first book, Uit die binneland (From the interior) was published in 2005 and his second, Anderkant die scrap (The other side of the scrap), in 2006. Both are collected short-short stories and schetches.
Snyman's first play, the one-man comedy Die Uwe, Pottie Potgieter (Yours Truly, Pottie Potgieter), was first performed in 2006 by Frank Opperman and was the runner-up for the AngloGold Ashanti/Aardklop-Smeltkroes Award for new texts in the same year.
Birthplace: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Fiona Coyne
Fiona Coyne (22 June 1965 – 18 August 2010) was a South African actress, author, playwright and television presenter who hosted the South African version of The Weakest Link.Coyne was born in Springs, South Africa in 1965. She was a member of the Capab drama group for seven years after training as an actor. She also worked at a rhinoceros and elephant sanctuary in Kenya for four years.She was the playwright of many notable plays such as The Birthday, Glass Roots and As the Koekie crumbles.
In 2009, Coyne appeared in The Adventures of Pinocchio, a pantomime by Janice Honeyman, as Katarina the Cat. She also authored the book, Who Moved My Ladder? The Working Woman's Guide to Success.Coyne was best known to South Africans for her role as the presenter of The Weakest Link. Her appearance, hair, dress and style of speaking to contestants were based on those of Anne Robinson, who hosted the British version of the show. Coyne beat approximately 500 people for The Weakest Link role. She was flown to London in 2003 to train with Anne Robinson before the South African version of the show was launched.Coyne died at her home in Fish Hoek, South Africa, on 18 August 2010, aged 45, from a suspected suicide. She had recently divorced her husband, Willie Fritz, after 22 years of marriage. She had reportedly left notes for her housekeeper, Zoleka Shumani, and her family. Her funeral was held at St. Peter's Roman Catholic church in Strand, Western Cape.
