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Nothing but the truth by John Kani

John Kani’s date of birth is the 30th of August 1943 in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. John Kani’s first play as a sole playwright was performed at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg. The play is a post-apartheid South African play. It deals with the relationship between Black South Africans who stayed in the country and those who went into exile.The play is called “Nothing but the Truth”. In South Africa, in New Brighton a 63-year-old librarian Sipho Makhaya prepares for the return of the ashes of his brother Themba, who recently passed away while in exile in London after gaining a reputation as a hero of the anti-apartheid movement.

Written in 2002 preformed in a place celebrating 43 years of history.

Awards

In 2003 the play won the 2003 Fleur du Cap for best actor, best indigenous script and best new South African play. The play has also won five Naledi Theatre Awards. In the same year John Kani also received a special Obie award for his contribution to theatre in the USA.

TRC method

This play continues to talk about the injustices of South Africa and Apartheid as, its also addresses the TRC method . TRC standing for truth and reconciliation where hearings would take place and victims could voice their opinions and perpetrators could ask for amnesty.

Themes

The TRC method is seen in the play when Thando. Sipho’s daughter is fighting with her sister Mandisa who grew up in London as her father is Themba who passed away, in the play they have just come back from viewing hearings and Mandisa doesn’t think it’s helping but Thando is mad because Mandisa has been in exile in London for the whole of apartheid making her not have a right to comment on what will help or not as she has not been there like Thando.

Culture is another theme addressed as Mandisa keeps edging Thando to go out and party in the play but she can’t as South Africa is not as safe as London and she can’t just do whatever she pleases under her fathers roof. But Mandisa can’t understand this as she was raised differently in London. Another theme written is Reconciliation due to the TRC method but also the fact that Sipho had to forgive his family for choosing exile over staying together as his brother had a better life doing nothing for the apartheid movement but was still named the hero and not himself for staying and trying to keep his family afloat. He also had to forgive his brother, Themba for sleeping with his wife.

Lastly another important theme is truth as seen when people had to take an oath on the stand at the hearings and the discussion of truth setting you free at the end of the play when Mandisa Thando and Sipho sit together in the living room talking after the sisters fight and find out about Sipho’s wife’s affair with Mandisa’s dead father allowing Sipho to finally get over it and the play ends with all of them at peace and hoping for a better future because of the truth.

Reference list

• http://Africanfilm.com. (2019). Nothing but the Truth by John Kani - africanfilm.com. [online] Available at: http://www.africanfilm.com/NothingButTheTruth.html [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

• http://Sahistory.org.za. (2019). Bonisile John Kani | South African History Online. [online] Available at: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/bonisile-john-kani [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

• http://Market Theatre. (2019). Market Theatre. [online] Available at: https://markettheatre.co.za/ [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].

• http://Possible themes. (2019). [image] Available at: http://themes in nothing but the truth by john kani [Accessed 24 Sep. 2019].