Tag: John Kani

Sizwe Banzi Is Dead by Athol Fugard, John Kani, Winston Ntshona, Lyttelton Theatre, 24 March 2007

Two weeks in a row to the National Theatre (RNT) and two theatre visits out of three to see John Kani perform in one of his own plays.

This one, a revival of one of the most famous works to come out of the defiant anti-apartheid theatre in South Africa in the 1970s, in some ways pleased us less than Nothing But The Truth at the Hampstead a few weeks earlier. 

Nothing But The Truth by John Kani, Hampstead Theatre, 9 February 2007

Again, we really wanted to like it. We had loved The Island when we saw the revival of that one. But Sizwe Banzi seemed an altogether lighter and more dated work. The play has some great lines and some excellent points to make, but didn’t move us as we felt it should.

Yes, we were glad to have seen it, but it was a bit like seeing a band of ageing rockers whom you wished you had seen “back in the day”. The point was back in the day.

It got pretty good reviews – click here to find them.

Below is a short excerpt of John Kani and Winston Ntshona performing the play back in the day – early 1980s I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8YGqgezaf8

Nothing But The Truth by John Kani, Hampstead Theatre, 9 February 2007

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:

The Island by Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona, Lyttelton Theatre, 5 February 2000

Janie and I rated this one very highly…

Really good

…says my log.

I had been a fan of Athol Fugard for many years by then and was very keen to see his long-time associates, John Kani & Winston Ntshona, perform. A set up that can lead to disappointment, but in this instance my enthusiasm was fully justified.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph loved it:

Island Spencer TelegraphIsland Spencer Telegraph 28 Jan 2000, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard also rated it very highly:

Island de Jongh StandardIsland de Jongh Standard 27 Jan 2000, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington gave it a rare full five stars, so he must have really loved it:

Island Billington GuardianIsland Billington Guardian 27 Jan 2000, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

One of those special nights at the theatre, for us, this was.

My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard, Lyttelton Theatre, 15 September 1990

I’m very partial to Athol Fugard’s work, but thirty years on, I remember very little about this one. Even the log, which was only a few years after the event, says:

Little recollection, strangely.

I saw this with Bobbie Scully, who seemed keen to see Fugard with me back then. Janie also has a taste for his work.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for this play/production.

I think the problem for me/us was that it was a story that pre-dated Nelson Mandela’s release but we were seeing it very soon after that momentous event. In that sense it felt a bit like old news, although of course the injustices and arguments depicted were still (are still) relevant.

Michael Billington in the Guardian loved it:

Billington on My Children!Billington on My Children! Sat, Sep 8, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in The Observer was less sure, finding it, unusually for Fugard, overly sentimental.

Coveney on My Children!Coveney on My Children! Sun, Sep 9, 1990 – 50 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com