A Lesson from Aloes (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Athol Fugard
- First Published: 1981
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: Autumn, 1963
- Setting: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Principal Characters: Piet Bezuidenhout, Gladys Bezuidenhout, Steve Daniels
- Genres: Domestic realism, Drama, Problem play, Psychological drama, Allegory, Autobiographical drama
- Subjects: 1960’s, Africa or Africans, Power, personal or social, Immigration or emigration, South Africa or South Africans, Apartheid
- Locales: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
The Play
Piet is in the backyard of his house with an aloe plant that he is trying to identify from a field book, for names are important to him. Other potted aloes are set across the yard. His wife sits quietly nearby. Piet and Gladys have invited Steve Daniels and his family for supper, and because both are apprehensive about the impending visit, the waiting time is passing slowly. Gladys, to relieve her tension, goes into the bedroom of the house (visible to the audience) to get her sun hat and while there hides her diary under the mattress.
She returns and continues...
[The entire page is 2578 words long]
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