Athol Fugard. It’s not a name that’s heard very often in local community theater; maybe never.

Fugard is a South African playwright, born in 1932 in a remote village. Although he is of European descent, the injustices of apartheid became a recurring theme in his plays, which garnered critical acclaim abroad and government criticism at home.

When his 1961 play, “Bloodknot” was produced in England the South African government withdrew his passport, effectively banning him from overseas travel for four years.

The era of apartheid officially ended in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela as the first black African president of South Africa, but Fugard’s dramas continue to be performed and respected around the globe.

The Changing Scene Theatre Northwest in Bremerton is set to produce one of those plays, “The Road to Mecca,” directed by Port Townsend Director Jeane Myers.

“I read the play years ago,” Myers said. “It’s a gorgeous story, and he’s a fabulous writer.”

This is the kind of play that seems intimate at first, with just three actors, one stage set and intense dialogue, but the theme is huge.

“This play shows how a person can be courageous and what a person can sacrifice when they make a stand,” Myers said. “Helen makes a stand for her life — she feels that if she’s not allowed to follow her visions she will die.”

“Miss Helen” is the central character, an elderly woman who lives in the small South African village of New Bethesda. Her Christian neighbors think she is eccentric, and perhaps dangerous, because she has taken to building statues in her yard, all of which face Mecca. For Helen they are part of a vision, one she has followed for 15 years.

The play explores the relationship between Miss Helen and her two best friends, Marius Byleveld, who is the village “Dominee,” or pastor, and the young schoolteacher Elsa. Both friends think they know what is best for Helen, but it’s far from the same thing. Helen is torn between what she wants and what they want for her.

Helen is played by Lee Ann Hittenberger, a Seattle actor who has been wanting to appear in a Changing Scene play for some time.

“I’ve been courting Pavlina for five years,” she said of Changing Scene Director Pavlina Morris.

She has a broad range of acting experience and notes that she is certified in seven types of stage combat weapons. She is also a choreographer, singer, dancer and costume designer. She most recently played Mrs. Frank in “The Diary of Anne Frank” at the Seattle Performing Arts Fellowship.

She said she likes the triangular relationship between the characters in this play, and the relationship between Marius and Helen.

“The decision Helen has to make takes a lot of courage,” she said. “This play is about faith, courage, freedom and following through with something you absolutely believe in. It’s about having the courage to be different.”

Hittenberger is very convincing in her portrayal of Helen as a woman who seems frail and vulnerable, but is hiding an inner strength built on her convictions.

Elsa is played by Queen Holden of Bremerton, who plays the role with energy and enthusiasm appropriate to the younger character. Elsa struggles with the apartheid system and her failed attempt at love.

This is Holden’s first community theater appearance, although she has been acting since she was 14. She has been in numerous productions at Olympic College.

“This is a very touching story,” she said. “I’ve developed a really strong bond personally with Lee Ann, and that makes it easier on stage.”

Playing Marius Byleveld is Charlie Birdsell, a familiar face in local theater, although this part is quite a contrast from his last role, as Ray Bud in “Dearly Departed” at the Bremerton Community Theatre.

Byleveld has the heavy task of trying to convince his old friend that it’s time for her to give up her independent lifestyle and enter an “old age home.”

“Anyone who has gone through this process with their parents knows, it’s a scary situation when people get out of their comfort zone,” he said.

There is also a tension between the two characters in that Byleveld has been attracted to Helen for more than 20 years, but he can’t bridge the gap between his role as a cleric and hers as a possible heretic.

Myers didn’t want to give away the ending, but said that Helen is a woman who tries to bring light into her life, after spending all her life to that point being afraid of the dark.

“She tries to stay in the light in a very interesting way,” Myers said.

While the original script called for real flames on the set to illustrate that concept, fire codes no longer allow that. Instead Morris got creative with mirrors and paint. The effect is one of disequilibrium and unease, a perfect reflection of the theme.

“The Road to Mecca” is long and talky, definitely not for young audiences, but for the thinking crowd it’s a rewarding journey.

“The Road to Mecca” opens June 2 at the Changing Scene Theatre Northwest, 5889 SR 303 NE, East Bremerton, and runs weekends through June 24. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays.

Tickets are $12 adults, $10 seniors and students, available by phone at (360)792-8601.