My Children My Africa By Athol Fugard Directed By Maurice Podbrey

The great South African playwright confronts the tragedy of apartheid in his native land in this compelling tale about the efforts of a humble and humane black teacher in a segregated township to persuade just one young person that education, not violence, is the answer to South Africa's problems.

The search for a means to an end to apartheid erupts into conflict between a black township youth and his "old-fashioned" black teacher.

In his introduction to this collection, Stephen Gray states that 'there can be no artistic grounds on which to uphold a belief that short implies lesser'; he goes on to make the point that 'Fugard seems naturally to be most at ease when working in compact dense forms'.

"A fascinating history of a wonderful old theatre." - Hume Cronyn In September of 1901 London’s New Grand Opera House flung open its doors. Boasting a beautiful interior design, and with the most modern stage equipment available, the theatre was large enough to accommodate over 1,700 patrons and the largest touring shows of the time. With impresario Ambrose J. Small at the helm, a new era in theatrical entertainment began. Throughout the next hundred years, the Grand Theatre hosted everything from stock companies to minstrel shows, from vaudeville to star-studded productions. The celebrated amateur theatre company, London Little Theatre, made The Grand its home for decades. As Canadian theatre came into its own in the 1970s, The Grand embraced professional theatre status. Throughout all these changes The Grand has remained London’s "Grand Old Lady of Richmond Street." Legendary performers from the past, including the Marks Brothers, Anna Pavlova and John Gielgud have graced its vast stage, as have such contemporary stage stars as Hume Cronyn, William Hutt and Martha Henry. This extensively researched book, lavishly illustrated, lovingly documents the life of The Grand. Theatre stories from every decade of The Grand’s colourful life abound throughout. To read this book is to come to know London’s Grand Theatre in all its architectural splendour and its legacy in Canadian theatre history.

"Generational conflict over the most effective means for ending apartheid in South Africa lead to an explosive confrontation between a gifted but impatient black township youth and his devoted but "old fashioned" black teacher. The unexpected involvement of a young white woman who befriends and learns from both men strips away the political trappings to reveal the human trauma at the heart of South Africa's ... tragedy."--From publisher description.

When Maurice Podbrey arrived in Montreal from England to teach at the National Theatre School in the autumn of 1966, Canadian theatre was in ferment and the excitement of Expo '67 and Canada's centenary was in the air. By 1969, he had become founding artistic director of Montreal's Centaur Theatre and embarked on 28 successful seasons of theatre. This story of the Centaur and Podbrey's reflections on theatre--directing, acting and actors, theatre administration, teaching, the audience, and critics--spotlights Canada's remarkable cultural evolution over the last three decades.