Reviewing an anniversary performance of the revival in 1985, starring Fugard himself in the role of Morris and Zakes Mokae in the role of Zach (the roles both originated in South Africa in 1961), "New York Times" drama critic Mel Gussow describes the play as "An artfully executed theatrical dialogue...one can discover the seeds of the author's art. Themes, motifs, images and the author's own impassioned conscience are all there in organic form." In "Time" magazine, the same performance was reviewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William A. Henry III, who notices the long collaboration between the two actors, Fugard and Mokae: "The actors' blood knot of decades of fraternal friendship has only ripened their truth onstage."