Nothing but the Truth

John Kani

Description

Nothing but the Truth is a story of two brothers, of sibling rivalry, of exile, of memory and reconciliation, of the perplexities of freedom

Sujets

• Littérature Africaine
• Littérature Africaine
• General officer
• General

Informations

• Publié par: WITS University Press
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2002
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781868146574
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

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Nothing ut the Truth

John Kani

WITWATERSRAND UNIVERSITY PRESS i

Witwatersrand University Press 1 Jan Smuts Avenue Johannesburg 2 0 0 1 South Africa

© John Kani, 2002

First published 2002 Reprinted in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017

ISBN 978-1-86814-389-4 (print) ISBN฀978-1-86814-657-4฀(ePDF)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.

Cover photograph: ‘You burnt my brother’

Photographs by Ruphin Coudyzer Cover Design and Typesetting by Crazy Cat Designs, Johannesburg, South Africa Printed and bound by Creda Communications ii

Dedicated to my brother, Xolile Kani.

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Introduction

Zakes Mda

The world premier ofNothing But the Truthat the National Festival of the Arts in Grahamstown was hailed by critics variously as one of the greatest days in South African theatre history and a pivotal cultural moment. Alan Swerdlow commented that Kani had written a play that was so brimming with humanity and compassion, married seamlessly with its intellectual standpoint, that the audience left the theatre elated and stimulated. In the same article, Darryl Accone pointed out

that this was indeed the play the new South Africa had been waiting for. It dealt with the contradictions of liberation and the perplexities of freedom in an utterly exhilarating manner. He added, ‘Strikingly, beneath its humour and humanity, Nothing But the Truthis a deeply political play of immense 1 subtlety and depth.’ Another critic, Guy Willoughby, trumpeted that the thematic terrain explored was fascinating, taking South Africa out of the didactic ‘protest’ stage mode into theatrical forms that conveyed the complex political 2 dynamics of the democratic era. The audiences agreed. The full-house performances received standing ovations. This turning point in South African drama began with a casual conversation outside a restaurant in the Market Theatre precinct. I mentioned to John Kani that I was bothered by the references that were often made toSizwe Bansi is DeadandThe Islandas Athol Fugard’s plays, without ever crediting John Kani and Winston Ntshona. This is common not only in the academy but also among international theatre practitioners and commentators. Some are indeed generous enough to

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