The Road to Mecca (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Athol Fugard
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Plot: Problem play; psychological
- Time of Work: 1974
- Setting: South Africa
- Principal Characters: Miss Helen, Elsa Barlow, Marius Byleveld
- Genres: Drama, Problem play, Psychological drama
- Subjects: 1970’s, Africa or Africans, Art or artists, Individuality, Spiritual life or spirituality, Creative process, South Africa or South Africans, Loneliness, Old age or elderly people
- Locales: South Africa
The Play
The Road to Mecca takes place in the town of New Bethesda, in the heart of South Africa’s arid Karoo. The year is 1974, and the setting is the home of Miss Helen, an elderly widow whose work as an artist has led to her increasing estrangement from her neighbors. The play opens as Miss Helen’s young friend Elsa Barlow, a teacher from Cape Town, arrives unexpectedly for a visit. The older woman, her appearance unkempt and her small house in need of a thorough cleaning, is flustered by the surprise visit, and the two quarrel as Miss Helen fusses over her guest....
[The entire page is 2741 words long]
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