THE ROAD TO MECCA by Athol Fugard
Dramaturgical Notes composed by Judy Braha, Thomas Martin, and Todd Siff
SETTING
Time: Summer, 1976 rekindling Autumn, 1974
Place: Nieu Bethesda, South Africa
MISS HELEN
Helen Elizabeth Martins ('Miss Helen') is considered South Africa's foremost Outsider Artist.
Born in December of 1897 in Nieu Bethesda, Miss Helen was the youngest of six children. In
1919, she moved to the Transvaal to work as a teacher. After her brief marriage to Willem
Johannes Pienaar dissolved, Miss Helen returned to New Bethesda in 1928 to care for her ailing
parents. After her mother’s death in 1941 and her father’s death in 1945, Miss Helen became
increasingly reclusive and isolated from the local community. It is at this time that she began her
life as an artist. It is said that she lay in bed one night, considering how dull and grey her life had
become, when she resolved, there and then, that she would strive to bring light and color into her
life. There was no overall plan, but what began as decoration soon developed into a fascination
with the interplay of reflection and space, of light, dark, and different colors. When the interior
of the house was virtually completed Miss Helen applied her imagination to the world beyond
her door, transforming her garden into what became known as the Camel Yard. She was
particularly inspired by biblical texts, the poetry of Omar Khayyam, and the works of William
Blake. With the help of various assistants she continued to create her “Mecca” until 1976, when
she decided, in part due to her failing eyesight and arthritic hands, to end her own life.
Miss Helen’s Owl House and surrounding Camel Yard contain over 300 concrete and glass
sculptures. In the Owl House, Miss Helen created sun-faces, owls, and other images, which were
set against a luminous backdrop of walls and ceilings coated with elaborate patterns of crushed
glass embedded in bands of brightly colored paint. The Camel Yard is filled with biblical
figures, Oriental saints, mystical symbols, mythical figures, birds, owls, mermaids, monsters, and
castles made from cement, empty bottles, and pieces of glass, which all face East towards
Mecca.
After Martin’s death in August 1976, the Owl House fell into disrepair. After an outcry of
concerned individuals, the ownership of the property was transferred to the town of Nieu
Bethesda. In 1996, The Owl House Foundation was formed as a non-profit organization to
provide a more consistent and locally based administration for a significant cultural heritage and
tourist attraction. Once shunned by the residents of the village, today Miss Helen’s Owl House
and Camel Yard are visited by over 130,000 people each year. They have ironically become the
central source of livelihood for the entire town of Nieu Bethesda.
Dramaturgical Notes composed by Judy Braha, Thomas Martin, and Todd Siff
SETTING
Time: Summer, 1976 rekindling Autumn, 1974
Place: Nieu Bethesda, South Africa
MISS HELEN
Helen Elizabeth Martins ('Miss Helen') is considered South Africa's foremost Outsider Artist.
Born in December of 1897 in Nieu Bethesda, Miss Helen was the youngest of six children. In
1919, she moved to the Transvaal to work as a teacher. After her brief marriage to Willem
Johannes Pienaar dissolved, Miss Helen returned to New Bethesda in 1928 to care for her ailing
parents. After her mother’s death in 1941 and her father’s death in 1945, Miss Helen became
increasingly reclusive and isolated from the local community. It is at this time that she began her
life as an artist. It is said that she lay in bed one night, considering how dull and grey her life had
become, when she resolved, there and then, that she would strive to bring light and color into her
life. There was no overall plan, but what began as decoration soon developed into a fascination
with the interplay of reflection and space, of light, dark, and different colors. When the interior
of the house was virtually completed Miss Helen applied her imagination to the world beyond
her door, transforming her garden into what became known as the Camel Yard. She was
particularly inspired by biblical texts, the poetry of Omar Khayyam, and the works of William
Blake. With the help of various assistants she continued to create her “Mecca” until 1976, when
she decided, in part due to her failing eyesight and arthritic hands, to end her own life.
Miss Helen’s Owl House and surrounding Camel Yard contain over 300 concrete and glass
sculptures. In the Owl House, Miss Helen created sun-faces, owls, and other images, which were
set against a luminous backdrop of walls and ceilings coated with elaborate patterns of crushed
glass embedded in bands of brightly colored paint. The Camel Yard is filled with biblical
figures, Oriental saints, mystical symbols, mythical figures, birds, owls, mermaids, monsters, and
castles made from cement, empty bottles, and pieces of glass, which all face East towards
Mecca.
After Martin’s death in August 1976, the Owl House fell into disrepair. After an outcry of
concerned individuals, the ownership of the property was transferred to the town of Nieu
Bethesda. In 1996, The Owl House Foundation was formed as a non-profit organization to
provide a more consistent and locally based administration for a significant cultural heritage and
tourist attraction. Once shunned by the residents of the village, today Miss Helen’s Owl House
and Camel Yard are visited by over 130,000 people each year. They have ironically become the
central source of livelihood for the entire town of Nieu Bethesda.
