The Author
In Valley Song, the character known as The Author is none other than Athol Fugard himself, stepping into his own narrative. He is portrayed as a white man in his sixties, a successful and affluent playwright originally from the Karoo region of South Africa, who has spent most of his life in Port Elizabeth and traveled extensively worldwide. Like Fugard in reality, The Author has dedicated his career to crafting plays that inspire hope for his country's future. However, he confesses to being "sick and tired of the madness and desperate scramble of my life in the make-believe world of theatre."

Longing for the "real" world, he decides to return to the Karoo, purchasing a modest home on farmland to spend his remaining days writing prose (“no more nonsense from actors and producers and critics”), enjoying the scent of the lush earth, and harvesting vegetables from his own garden. Yet, his conscience is troubled by the situation of Abraam Jonkers, an elderly black man who has spent his entire life on the land The Author is acquiring but, due to South Africa's racial discrimination, has never been able to own it himself.

The Author also becomes acquainted with Jonkers' granddaughter, Veronica. While he initially appears to question Veronica's aspirations of becoming a famous singer, he actually comprehends the enigmatic drive propelling her toward her dreams. He acknowledges that as his own days are nearing their end, the future belongs to her and her generation.

Abraam Jonkers
Abraam Jonkers is a mixed-race South African man in his seventies. Known as "old Buks" in his village and "Oupa" by his granddaughter, Veronica, Abraam has spent his entire life in Nieu-Bethesda, a small village nestled in the Sneeuberg Mountains of South Africa's vast Karoo region, except for a brief stint as a prison guard in the Transvaal during World War II. Both he and his father, Jaap Jonkers, have been tenant farmers on the Landman family's property, who are white. As a child, his father taught him that if he lived as a good man, God would make his days sweet like the grapes that grew in their valley. To achieve this, Abraam was told to work diligently on the land, love everyone in his home and village, and maintain faith by worshiping God at the village church.

Since then, old Buks has endeavored to live his life according to his father's guidance. Over the years, he has faced numerous disappointments. His daughter left for Johannesburg in search of excitement and new prospects, only to pass away there while still young. He also lost his cherished wife to old age, laying her to rest in the earth he holds so dear. Now, as he approaches the end of his own life, he fears losing his only remaining family member, his granddaughter Veronica, who dreams of becoming a renowned singer.

Abraam Jonkers embodies the ‘‘old’’ South Africa in the play. He is acutely conscious of his racial identity and its implications—lack of education, limited opportunities, and a persistent fear of the white-dominated society and its perils. Having endured the harshest his country has to offer, he is less hopeful than Veronica about her prospects beyond their valley.

Veronica Jonkers
Veronica is a seventeen-year-old black teenager. Although she was born in Johannesburg, her mother passed away shortly after her birth, and her grandmother, Betty Jonkers, brought her back to Nieu-Bethesda in the Sneeuberg Mountain valley. A few years later, her grandmother also passed away, and she has been raised by her grandfather, Abraam, whom she affectionately calls ‘‘Oupa.’’ Unlike her grandfather, she...