Kunene and The King: A remarkable and moving play

In this bittersweet play, John Kani magnificently captures the complexities of the past and the present.

John Kani and Michael Richard in the play Kunene and The King. [Image by Frennie Shivambu]

By Esihle Faltein

Within just 90 minutes, John Kani encapsulates the entire history of a nation. In the phenomenal play Kunene and The King, Kani tells the story of two men who represent vastly different realities within South Africa. Lunga Kunene, played by John Kani, is a male nurse saddened by his experience with racism and apartheid. Jack Morris, played by Michael Richard, is an actor who secretly battles alcoholism and the acceptance of his terminal cancer. In the play, Kani takes us on a journey that explores the themes of racism, classism, reconciliation, and politics.

The tragicomedy unfolds over three scenes and two settings. The first two scenes take place in Jack's not so tidy living room, where he prepares for his final performance of King Lear while still trying to overcome his critical liver cancer. Through Jack Morris, we can see a glimpse of the Shakespeare play King Lear, which mirrors the plight of racism, inequality, and poverty that we often see in our country.

Lunga Kunene is a retired nurse assigned by an agency to supervise Jack and his critical health. While in Jack's home, Kunene narrates how his dreams of becoming a doctor were disrupted, not by his Soweto upbringing but by the vindictiveness of comrades towards his shopkeeper father, who was vocal about his opposing political stance.

John Kani and Michael Richard in Kunene and the King. [Image by Frennie Shivambu]

In between reciting his lines from King Lear, Morris reveals how he has very little interest in the lives of black South Africans, "Whatever stories you have to tell I am pale for them". Through his gestures and remarks, Morris shows subtle hues of everyday micro-racism that still exists within our society. Kani depicted this well when Morris mentioned not knowing the surname of the domestic worker who has been with his family for 50 years, "Starts with an M like they all do". And even then, he does not understand the wound and existential dread that apartheid created within black people.

Although Kunene and Morris often butt heads, the tensions erupt in humorous yet vicious ways. Brought together by medical obligation, the two men expose much about South Africa's socio-political past and present. Ultimately, it's a story about two vastly different people who find themselves having much compassion and understanding for each other and their contrasting realities.