The Road to Mecca at Renaissance Theaterworks

ne of Fugard’s most lyrical plays, THE ROAD TO MECCA is based on the life and work of Helen Martins -- South Africa’s foremost Outsider Artist.

For over 20 years, reclusive Miss Helen created her own “Mecca”– a fascinating backyard world of sculpture and mosaics in a desolate region of Apartheid South Africa. The village Pastor who embodies their community’s conservative values is determined to move the elderly Miss Helen into an old age home. Miss Helen’s dearest friend Elsa is just as determined that she remain free. MECCA is a tribute to the bravery of the Artist and the significance of artistic freedom in an oppressed society.

THE ROAD TO MECCA enjoyed an acclaimed Broadway revival in 2012, starring Rosemary Harris as Miss Helen.

The character of Miss Helen bears an uncanny resemblance to Milwaukee’s own Outsider Artist Mary Nohl who created her personal “Mecca” of outdoor sculpture at her Beach Drive home in Fox Point.

Thanks to the support of the Mary L. Nohl Fund, Renaissance Theaterworks is working with a local visual artist, Kathryne Martin-Muer. Kathryne is working on many small owl sculptures that mirror the real-life work of the main character in the play, Helen Martins of South Africa. Kathryne Martin-Muer is the Visual Art Recruitment Coordinator and Associate Lecturer at University of Wisconsin –Milwaukee (UWM), teaching in Foundations and Sculpture