Master Harold and the Boys characters

Also known as Hally, Master Harold

Appears from the start

A seventeen-year-old white South African schoolboy whose mother owns the tea room where Sam and Willie work. Intelligent and talkative, he has grown up around both men and treats Sam in particular as a friend and informal teacher, though the racial hierarchy of apartheid gives him authority over them.

Appears from the start

A middle-aged Black employee of the tea room and a thoughtful, patient mentor to Hally. He studies ballroom dancing with Willie and uses conversation, memory, and carefully chosen images to encourage the boy toward a more generous view of life.

Appears from the start

A Black tea-room employee who practices ballroom steps for an approaching competition. More direct and less academically inclined than Sam, he worries that his partner Hilda will not dance well enough and relies on Sam for coaching.