Exits and Entrances

The story of the one great artist's exit from the stage just as another was beginning his career in the theater. In Exits and Entrances, Fugard details his brief yet formative experience with mentor André Huguenet, considered the finest classical actor of their native South Africa. The play opens in 1961, the year South Africa declared its independence from the British Commonwealth, as well as the year of Huguenet's death. As Fugard's playwright character learns of his mentor's passing, he reminisces about their first collaboration: a production of Oedipus Rex in 1956. Throughout the run of this 1956 production and in the years that follow, Huguenet and Fugard grow close and offer each other insights on life, writing, and art.