Serve the Servants

by Mark Cofta

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Published: Oct 4, 2006

Fugard masterfully makes the political personal: Sam's subtle tutoring of Hally leads to discussion of history's "men of magnitude" (Napoleon, Darwin, Lincoln) and a glimpse of Hally's moral maturation. It's threatened however, by the pressures of Hally's home life, where he referees his drunken father and long-suffering mother. His fragile awareness — and the delicate family he's found in Sam and Willie — could be smothered by the cheap security and "superiority" society provides him.

Director David O'Connor's production brings to life the boys' fascination with ballroom dancing — leading to an inspiring metaphor of dance as human interaction and the vision of "a world where accidents don't happen" — as well as glimpses of harsh realities, such as Willie's violence toward girlfriend Hilda. Meghan Jones' scenic design creates a handsome tearoom, Millie Hiibel's costumes define class and period neatly, and Janet Embree's lighting and Matthew Lorenz's sound add an ominous rainstorm. The psychological sharpness and dramatic scope of "Master Harold" avoids apartheid's explicit horrors, instead concentrating on the larger evil of cowardice. Fugard's play builds to an ugly climax, but in its final moments offers hope in human nobility, proving devastating but not depressing, and compellingly specific while still universal.

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