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At Morris' insistence, The lonely
Zachariah has struck up a pen-pal relationship with a white girl and entertains fantasies that she might fall in love with him. The more level-headed Morris tries to disabuse Zachariah of such notions and warns him that in segregated South Africa, such a relationship
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play are the brothers Morris and
Zachariah. Both were raised by the same black mother, but have different fathers, and Morris is much more fair-skinned than Zachariah. Morris can pass for white, and has done so in the past, but now he has returned to live with Zachariah in a small, miserable shack in
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directing. Midgley reduced the play to 90 minutes...Midgley did manage to dig up things that had been missed in all the other productions. Most exciting was his treatment of the letter writing scene – "Address her" – which he turned into an essay in literacy...Zach sweating as the words clot in his
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To prepare for the date, Zachariah buys some fine "white" clothes with the money that he and his brother had been saving. When Morris puts on the clothes, he begins to adopt the white mannerisms and speech patterns that he had learned years earlier when trying to "pass" in white society. As he does
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Morris' fears are soon realized, when
Zachariah's pen-pal writes to say that she is coming to visit Port Elizabeth and wants to meet Zachariah. Zachariah must face the tragic truth that he can never have a future with her, that she can never love him, and that she would be horrified to see who he
173:. Morris keeps the house, while Zachariah works to support them both. They are saving money in hopes of buying a farm of their own some day. Both Morris and Zachariah have rich imaginations and have taken part in role-playing games together since they were small boys.
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The play ends with no real resolution. Morris and
Zachariah will, apparently, remain together for many unhappy years to come, needing each other, but unable to bridge the gap brought about by their respective skin tones.
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describes the play as "An artfully executed theatrical dialogue...one can discover the seeds of the author's art. Themes, motifs, images and the author's own impassioned conscience are all there in organic form." In
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When a letter arrives, indicating that the girl will not be coming for a visit after all, Zachariah and his relieved brother begin a new role-playing game. This time, the game takes bizarre twists.
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anthology series, but was never transmitted, although the recording has survived. After the rights on the script had lapsed, another production for the
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really is. To avoid having her meet
Zachariah, the brothers agree to have the white-looking Morris meet her and pretend to be Zachariah.
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so, he begins to treat his brother like an inferior, as any middle-class white South
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The play was prepared for transmission on
British television twice in the 1960s. The first version, directed by
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Reviewing an anniversary performance of the revival in 1985, starring Fugard himself in the role of Morris and
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can only mean trouble, especially since the girl has indicated in letters that her brother is a policeman.
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as Zach and Fugard himself again playing Morris; Fugard was pleased with the results:
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strand was made in 1967, with Fugard's collaboration. Also surviving, it stars the
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in the role of Zach (the roles both originated in South Africa in 1961),
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This article is about the play by Athol Fugard. For the rope knot, see
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celebrations, with
Michael Brando playing the lead role of Morris.
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Back in S'Kop after five weeks in London for BBC TV production of
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is an early play by South
African playwright, actor, and director
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407:"Crossing Boundaries: The Genesis of the Township Plays"
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288:magazine, the same performance was reviewed by
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245:Less pleased, and committed to the system of
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144:The play was most recently performed in
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814:Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
122:as Zachariah, at the Cricket Theatre,
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322:"Stage: 'The Blood Knot' by Fugard"
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388:. Craighall: A. D. Donker, 1983.
372:, Tiverton: Kelly Publishing p.255
345:The Internet Off-Broadway Database
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882:
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409:, Special issue on Athol Fugard,
16:1961 play written by Athol Fugard
370:Armchair Theatre: The Lost Years
257:confiscated Fugard's passport.
164:The only two characters in the
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607:"Master Harold"...and the Boys
499:Internet Off-Broadway Database
432:Internet Off-Broadway Database
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1:
631:The Shadow of the Hummingbird
411:Twentieth Century Literature
260:The play was revived at the
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488:Internet Broadway Database
100:, with the playwright and
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866:Plays set in South Africa
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460:"Brothers the Blood Knot"
341:"Athol Fugard: Biography"
169:the "colored" section of
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483:Blood Knot
417:. Accessed 4 Oct. 2008.
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726:No Trams to Lime Street
806:A Magnum for Schneider
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61:1961; Broadway revival
856:Plays by Athol Fugard
851:1963 television plays
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758:Afternoon of a Nymph
554:(1961, revised 1987)
456:William A. Henry III
413:(Winter 1993); rpt.
294:William A. Henry III
196:Reception and impact
137:premiere was at the
23:. For the film, see
861:South African plays
599:Marigolds in August
591:A Lesson from Aloes
575:Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
386:Notebooks 1960–1977
152:in 2010 as part of
139:John Golden Theatre
65:John Golden Theatre
774:The Paradise Suite
750:His Polyvinyl Girl
327:The New York Times
262:Roundabout Theatre
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798:The Tilted Screen
790:The Sweet War Man
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25:Blood Knot (film)
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108:Lucille Lortel
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440:. Retrieved
436:the original
428:"Blood Knot"
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353:. Retrieved
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160:Plot summary
150:South Africa
146:Johannesburg
143:
132:
124:Off Broadway
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98:South Africa
94:Johannesburg
90:Athol Fugard
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83:
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76:South Africa
42:Athol Fugard
871:Two-handers
831:Armchair 30
742:A Night Out
710:Underground
269:Zakes Mokae
217:Theatre 625
154:Mandela Day
116:J.D. Cannon
114:, starring
102:Zakes Mokae
845:Categories
583:The Island
551:Blood Knot
494:Blood Knot
442:2008-10-04
355:2008-10-02
318:Mel Gussow
279:Mel Gussow
166:two-hander
85:Blood Knot
48:Characters
38:Written by
33:Blood Knot
21:Blood knot
264:in 1980.
247:apartheid
241:mouth....
110:produced
53:Zachariah
686:Episodes
222:Jamaican
135:Broadway
825:Related
497:at the
486:at the
817:(1967)
809:(1967)
801:(1966)
793:(1966)
785:(1964)
777:(1963)
761:(1962)
753:(1961)
745:(1960)
737:(1959)
729:(1959)
721:(1959)
713:(1958)
705:(1958)
697:(1956)
680:series
634:(2014)
626:(2010)
618:(1984)
610:(1982)
602:(1980)
594:(1978)
586:(1972)
578:(1972)
570:(1969)
562:(1965)
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249:, the
224:actor
63:1986 (
51:Morris
535:Plays
300:Notes
212:BBC 2
126:, in
674:The
465:Time
390:ISBN
285:Time
133:Its
537:by
214:'s
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27:.
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