John Kani
Encyclopedia
Bonsile John Kani is a South Africa
n actor
, director and playwright
.
He was born in New Brighton, South Africa
.
Kani joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.
These were followed by the more famous Sizwe Banzi is Dead
and The Island
, co-written with Athol Fugard
and Winston Ntshona
, in the early 1970s. He also received an Olivier nomination for his role in My Children My Africa!
Kani's work has been widely performed around the world, including New York
, where he and Winston Ntshona won a Tony Award
in 1975 for Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island. These two plays were presented in repertory at the Edison Theatre
for a total of 52 performances.
Nothing but the Truth (2002) was his debut as sole playwright and was first performed in the Market Theatre
in Johannesburg
. This play takes place in post-apartheid South Africa and does not concern the conflicts between whites and blacks, but the rift between blacks who stayed in South Africa to fight apartheid, and those who left only to return when the hated regime folded. It won the 2003 Fleur du Cap Awards for best actor and best new South African play. In the same year he was also awarded a special Obie award for his extraordinary contribution to theatre in the USA.
Kani is executive trustee of the Market Theatre Foundation, founder and director of the Market Theatre Laboratory and chairman of the National Arts Council of SA.
, is also an actor and made his debut on U.S. television on the now canceled CW series
Life Is Wild
.
Award for the year 2000 and the Olive Schreiner Prize
for 2005. He was voted 51st in the Top 100 Great South Africans
in 2004. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town
.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, director and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
.
He was born in New Brighton, South Africa
New Brighton, Nelson Mandela Metropole
New Brighton is a suburb of Port Elizabeth, South Africa....
.
Kani joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.
These were followed by the more famous Sizwe Banzi is Dead
Sizwe Banzi is Dead
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead is a play by Athol Fugard, written collaboratively with two South African actors, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona, both of whom appeared in the original production. Its world première occurred on October 8, 1972 at the Space Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa...
and The Island
The Island (play)
The Island is a play by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona.The apartheid-era drama, inspired by a true story, is set in an unnamed prison clearly based on South Africa's notorious Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held for twenty-seven years...
, co-written with Athol Fugard
Athol Fugard
Athol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
and Winston Ntshona
Winston Ntshona
Winston Ntshona is a South African playwright and actor.Born in Port Elizabeth, Ntshona worked alongside fellow South African Athol Fugard on several occasions and played a minor role in Richard Attenborough's acclaimed film Gandhi....
, in the early 1970s. He also received an Olivier nomination for his role in My Children My Africa!
Kani's work has been widely performed around the world, including New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he and Winston Ntshona won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
in 1975 for Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island. These two plays were presented in repertory at the Edison Theatre
Edison Theatre
The Edison Theatre was a legitimate Broadway theatre located in the Edison Hotel at 240 West 47th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Officially a 499-seat Broadway house, the Edison Theater actually had 541 seats....
for a total of 52 performances.
Nothing but the Truth (2002) was his debut as sole playwright and was first performed in the Market Theatre
Market Theatre
The Market Theatre, based in the vibrant inner-city suburb of Newtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was opened in 1976, operating as an independent, non-racial theatre during the country’s apartheid regime...
in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. This play takes place in post-apartheid South Africa and does not concern the conflicts between whites and blacks, but the rift between blacks who stayed in South Africa to fight apartheid, and those who left only to return when the hated regime folded. It won the 2003 Fleur du Cap Awards for best actor and best new South African play. In the same year he was also awarded a special Obie award for his extraordinary contribution to theatre in the USA.
Kani is executive trustee of the Market Theatre Foundation, founder and director of the Market Theatre Laboratory and chairman of the National Arts Council of SA.
Personal life
Kani's son, AtandwaAtandwa Kani
Atandwa Kani is a South African actor who recently made his United States television debut in the program Life Is Wild. Kani is the son of John Kani, a well known South African actor....
, is also an actor and made his debut on U.S. television on the now canceled CW series
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
Life Is Wild
Life Is Wild
Life Is Wild is an American television serial drama adapted by Michael Rauch, George Faber and Charlie Pattinson from the popular British drama Wild at Heart. The show is about a New York veterinarian who moves his second wife and their two sets of children to a South African game reserve run by...
.
Other recognition
On February 20, 2010, Kani received Life Time award (SAFTA Awards). Kani has also received the Avanti Hall of Fame Award from the South African film, television and advertising industries, an M-Net Plum award and a Clio award in New York. Other awards include the Hiroshima Peace Culture FoundationHiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
The Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation was established in April 1998 by the City of Hiroshima to promote peace, and to consolidate the city's activities in peace promotion, globalization, and international cooperation. It integrates the Hiroshima International Relations Organization and the...
Award for the year 2000 and the Olive Schreiner Prize
Olive Schreiner Prize
The Olive Schreiner Prize is an annual award to new and emergent talent administered by the English Academy of South Africa.-Award winners:*2010 Poetry Finuala Dowling Notes from the Dementia Ward*2009 Prose Michael Cawood Green For The Sake of Silence...
for 2005. He was voted 51st in the Top 100 Great South Africans
SABC3's Great South Africans
Great South Africans was a South African television series that aired on SABC3 and hosted by Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu and Denis Beckett. In September 2004, thousands of South Africans took part in an informal nationwide poll to determine the "100 Greatest South Africans" of all time...
in 2004. In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
.
Plays
- Sizwe Banzi is Dead (1972) (co-authored with Athol FugardAthol FugardAthol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
and Winston NtshonaWinston NtshonaWinston Ntshona is a South African playwright and actor.Born in Port Elizabeth, Ntshona worked alongside fellow South African Athol Fugard on several occasions and played a minor role in Richard Attenborough's acclaimed film Gandhi....
) - The Island (1973) (co-authored with Athol FugardAthol FugardAthol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
and Winston NtshonaWinston NtshonaWinston Ntshona is a South African playwright and actor.Born in Port Elizabeth, Ntshona worked alongside fellow South African Athol Fugard on several occasions and played a minor role in Richard Attenborough's acclaimed film Gandhi....
) - Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act (co-authored with Athol FugardAthol FugardAthol Fugard is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director who writes in English, best known for his political plays opposing the South African system of apartheid and for the 2005 Academy-Award winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood...
and Winston NtshonaWinston NtshonaWinston Ntshona is a South African playwright and actor.Born in Port Elizabeth, Ntshona worked alongside fellow South African Athol Fugard on several occasions and played a minor role in Richard Attenborough's acclaimed film Gandhi....
) - My Children My Africa! (actor)
- Nothing But the Truth (2002) (sole playwright)
- The Tempest (2008) (actor in the role of Caliban, at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town; Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon; and tour of Richmond, Leeds, Bath, Nottingham, Sheffield)
Film and television
- The Wild GeeseThe Wild GeeseThe Wild Geese is a British 1978 film about a group of mercenaries in Africa. It stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger...
(1978) - Marigolds in AugustMarigolds in August (film)Marigolds in August is a 1980 South African drama film directed by Ross Devenish, based on the play of the same name by Athol Fugard. It was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Berlin Bear Anniversary Prize.-Cast:...
(1980) - Killing Heat (1981)
- The Grass Is Singing (1981)
- Master Harold...and the BoysMaster Harold...and the BoysMaster Harold...and the boys is a play by Athol Fugard. It was first produced at the Yale Repertory Theatre in early 1982 and made its premiere on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on 4 May where it ran for 344 performances...
(1985) (TV) - Saturday Night at the PalaceSaturday Night at the PalaceSaturday Night at the Palace is a play by South Africa's Paul Slabolepszy and Bill Flynn.-Plot:The play relates the story of two working class whites who arrive at an isolated roadhouse just as it is closing....
(1987) - An African Dream (1987)
- Options (1988)
- A Dry White Season (1989)
- Othello (1989) (TV)
- The Native Who Caused All the Trouble (1989)
- An African Dream (1990)
- Sarafina!Sarafina! (film)Sarafina! is a 1992 South African film starring Leleti Khumalo, Whoopi Goldberg, Miriam Makeba, John Kani and Tertius Meintjies.-Plot:The plot centers on students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to the implementation of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in schools.The character...
(1992) - In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid (1993) (Non-fiction)
- Soweto Green (1995)
- The Ghost and the DarknessThe Ghost and the DarknessThe Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 adventure film starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer set in Africa at the end of the 19th century.It was directed by Stephen Hopkins and the screenplay was written by William Goldman....
(1996) - Kap der Rache (1997) (TV) (German)
- Kini and AdamsKini and AdamsKini and Adams is a 1997 Burkinabé drama film directed by Idrissa Ouedraogo. It was filmed in Zimbabwe in the English language.-Plot:Two friends, Kini and Adams, live as poor farmers in a rural South African community...
(1997) - The Tichborne Claimant (1998)
- Final SolutionFinal Solution (2001 film)Final Solution is a 2001 film set in South Africa based on the real-life of Gerrit Wolfaardt, with themes of morality, tolerance, and forgiveness. The title of the film comes from the Nazi Final Solution which was the inspiration of a plan with an apartheid motive in the film.-Cast:* John Kani as ...
(2001) - Hillside (2005–2008) (TV series)
- Silent Witness (Finding Rachel) (2008)
- Endgame (2009)
- CoriolanusCoriolanus (2011 film)Coriolanus is a 2011 film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler. It marks Fiennes's directorial debut...
(2011)