Road to Mecca

The Road to Mecca is a play by South African playwright Athol Fugard. It was inspired by the story of Helen Martins, who lived in Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa and created The Owl House, which is now a provincial heritage site. In the play, directed by Ian Hefele, Miss Helen, a senior South African widow, has been working on an overgrown sculpture garden, which is a dream trip to "Mecca." While Pastor Marius urges Helen to move to a senior home, Elsa, a Cape Town schoolteacher, arrives to encourage Helen in her art.