John Kani relives how he was affected after he found out that his younger brother was diagnosed with liver cancer while the veteran actor was writing his play Kunene and the King that ironically was about an actor who was struggling with stage 4 liver cancer.
His brother, who was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, was buried in January last year.
The show opened in England five days later and it was the most difficult time of his life as an actor where a story turned into a reality.
The idea of Kunene and the King developed in 2018 when the country was about to celebrate 25 years of democracy in 2019. The story is about a top actor who has landed a lead role in Shakespeare’s play King Lear that was staged at a Cape Town theatre. But the problem is that the actor was struggling with stage 4 liver cancer.
"While writing the play in 2018, I told my brother about the play. [When] I came back from England in 2019, he told me that he was diagnosed with liver cancer. I reminded him about what I had told him in 2018 and that the show was not about him. I opened the show in England still hurting. Every word was now real and personal,” Kani shares.
The show won Kani the Pragnell Shakespeare Award last month, making the legendary actor the first-ever black person to be awarded the gong.
The award was announced virtually last week by the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare's hometown. The institute is linked to the University of Birmingham and the award was given on April 26, Shakespeare’s birthday.
The award recognises outstanding achievement in extending the appreciation and enjoyment of the works of Shakespeare and in the general advancement of Shakespearian knowledge and understanding.
For Kani, it all started when The Guardian theatre critic selected 10 highlights of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 60 years of existence and his recent play Kunene and the King made the cut. The Shakespeare Institute looked at his involvement with Shakespeare stories and through panels and discussions decided that the most deserving person this time was Kani.
Speaking to TimeOut, Kani explains: “It is the first time an African wins the Pragnell Shakespeare Award. When I looked at the list of recipients... I saw respected people regarded as Sirs and professors. My friends in England are so excited and are saying I did not win for SA and Africa but for all black people in the world.”
When the 78-year-old received an email making him aware about the award, he says the first thing he did was to google the Pragnall Shakespeare Award to understand what it is about.
“I looked at the list of former recipients and I see Sirs and professors. What pleases me is that there was no other candidate, it was just me. I am very proud to be acknowledged for the little contribution that I have made in my life to one of the world game changers in the arts world.
“If you say I won the best actor, I would say I deserve it. I know that I can act. But if a group of people hold a meeting and decided to honour me, that is humbling. But If I knew about the award I would have worked even harder.”
Kani has been a fan of Shakespeare’s work since he was 11 years old at primary school in New Brighton in Gqeberha. As a professional actor he has also done Shakespeare’s works like Othello, Macbeth and Tempest. With the Tempest he toured England in 2009. His recent play Kunene and the King also touches on the story of King Lear, which is another Shakespeare story.
“I loved reading those Shakespeare sonnets at school. They made me look smart to the girls. At school we were fed Shakespeare more than African literature,” he says laughing.
About Kunene and the King, Kani says the actor struggling with stage 4 liver cancer decided to hire a nurse to look after him: “He decides to hire a nurse to take care of him at home while rehearsing the play. But he gets the shock of his life when a male nurse sister, Kunene, rocks up in his door step. He is expecting a female white nurse. He sees a black man and calls the police.”
“I wrote my first draft and gave it to Antony Sher to read it. Three days later, he told me that he had showed it to the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. And he was interested in the story. We arrived in England to do research around cancer and how it is treated. I met so many oncologists and the show opened,” Kani explains.
If all goes to plan, Kani hopes to have a run in Johannesburg before taking the show to Gqeberha, Mpumalanga and Durban.
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