Who is the Author in the play, Valley Song?

The Author in Valley Song is just that: Athol Fugard himself, appearing as a character in his own play. He is a white man in his sixties, a successful and prosperous playwright who was born in the Karoo region of South Africa, but has lived most of his life in Port Elizabeth and traveled the cities of the world. Like the real-life Fugard, The Author has devoted his career to writing hopeful plays about the future of his country, but is now "sick and tired of the madness and desperate scramble of my life in the make-believe world of theatre."