We really wanted to like this piece a lot.
John Kani is a bit of a legend of South African theatre, having been so influential in Athol Fugard’s plays and the like.
The subject matter – Truth and Reconciliation and all that – was right up our street. It was great to see John Kani performing in his own play.
In truth, this piece did less for us than we’d hoped.
It was well produced and well acted. Perhaps it had been built up so much as a modern classic that it was bound to disappoint us a bit.
It had some good moments and we were pleased to have seen the piece, but it didn’t really grab us the way we had hoped.
By way of contrast, the play we saw downstairs a few years later, A Human Being Died That Night – click here or below…
A Human Being Died That Night by Nicholas Wright, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, 10 May 2013
…really did grab us. Coincidentally, our next visit to the theatre was to see a Nicholas Wright – The Reporter.
Click here for a link to reviews and stuff – mostly very good – on Nothing But The Truth.
Below is a clip from a Cape Town production of the piece, but without John Kani himself performing:
Below is an interview with John Kani: