After a short run in the Swan Theatre, the show returns to its spiritual home of Cape Town, South Africa.
The first South African performance of Kunene and the King takes place tonight (30 April) at The Fugard Theatre, following its short run in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The play is a co-production between the RSC and The Fugard Theatre, written by and starring John Kani alongside fellow South African actor Antony Sher. It tells the story of two men from very different walks of life who find themselves thrust together in post-Apartheid South Africa. After early rehearsals in Cape Town, the production transferred to our Swan Theatre for its world premiere, and will now play at The Fugard Theatre until 24 May.
For John, it's an incredibly personal play, as his criticism of the apartheid regime saw him beaten and left for dead in an attack that cost him his left eye: "We [in South Africa] are an example of reconciliation, of Ubuntu, of humanity, of working together, but we are also a work in progress, and through the arts we highlight those kind of cracks within our humanity and society, we learn from each other... We used art as a weapon for change; now we have change, we use art to consolidate and appreciate and celebrate that change."