I was not expecting “Kunene & the King,” a Royal Shakespeare Company’s production, to be this dense; I imagined it would be a play about the apartheid that is loosely tied to the works of Shakespeare, but it was much more than that.
The master’s works can fit in anywhere and for that very reason he is widely quoted-and just like Rumi he too is often misquoted-but magic happens when Shakespeare is put to good use. The manner in which the writer John Kani uses King Lear is pure genius; also his build up and timing for the storm in Kunene and the King-which is integral to Lear’s plot-is remarkable.
The play begins with the actor and director John Kani, who plays the role of a male hospital nurse. Sister Luna Kunene, who is tasked to care for a drunk actor dealing with stage four lung cancer. Antony Sher, which is played by the veteran actor Jack Morris. The entire play revolves around the dialogue between the nurse and the patient. The cynical Sher cannot keep his hands off the gin yet hopes to play the part of King Lear and Kunene tries to help him improve his quality of life. Whilst it is never a good time to fall ill or diet is interesting how Sher, who is playing the role of an actor in Kunene and the King, talks about stage fright and ties it to fear of dying.
In a theatrical performance, a discussion of dying and the end of life is rare; I have never seen a play that goes beyond scratching the surface but ‘Kunene & the King’ digs deep and the intention is to ease the thought of dying as opposed to get you morose. The writer is inspired by the book of Dr Kathryn Mannix titled With the End in Mind that reads, ‘Watching dying is like watching birth: in fact, normal birth is probably more uncomfortable than normal dying, yet people have come to associate the idea of dying with pain and indignity that are rarely the case’
In a theatrical performance, a discussion of dying and the end of life is rare; I have never seen a play that goes beyond scratching the surface but “Kunene & the King” digs deep and the intention is to ease the thought of dying as opposed to get you morose. The writer is inspired by the book of Dr Kathryn Mannix titled With the End in Mind that reads, “Watching dying is like watching birth: in fact, normal birth is probably more uncomfortable than normal dying, yet people have come to associate the idea of dying with pain and indignity that are rarely the case.”
There is just so much you can do in a 90-minute play without an interval. In the world today, we are not used to NOT being distracted by smartphones for such a long period of time, but this play manages to grip the attention of the audience for the entire length of the play and much of the credit goes to the script, acting and most certainly the theme of death that is imbued in the play-which makes it such a sobering experience. Otherwise, even the pop icon Madonna has to instruct the fans to get rid of their phones during the Madam X concert to ensure that she has undivided attention.
It is amazing how this play successfully weaves the theme of apartheid, politics and link it with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as well as King Lear, then racial stereotypes and to top it all be able to talk about death and the end of life. It is a brilliant play that will get you thinking.
The writer is an educationalist and broadcaster. He can be reached on [email protected]