To Stratford to see "Kunene and the King" at the Swan Theatre. An uneventful trip to the Premier Inn; checked in and refreshed, we strolled into the town centre for a quick mooch around the shops and then to Edward Moon for dinner. A grown up "trio of fish" accompanied by vegetables for Amanda:
and my habitual burger:
Sweets (not pictured) followed: profiteroles with vanilla ice cream for Amanda and a marbled
white & dark chocolate brownie, rich chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream for me.
We rolled out into the street and made our way to the theatre, taking in a walk around the waterside park and, as usual, a quick circumnavigation of the theatre building itself; we were rewarded with a view of one of the principals, Antony Sher, leaning on the balcony of his dressing room and quietly taking in the spring evening as he composed himself for what was to come.
The obligatory selfie:
and the view from our usual front-row-balcony seats:
As we waited for the rest of the audience to take their seats I heard a familiar voice booming from below. We peered over the guardrail to see Richard (Victor "I don't BELIEVE it" Meldrew) Wilson making his way to his seat. Looking dapper but slightly frail (he's in his early 80s and suffered a heart attack three years ago) he was walking slowly with a cane and was followed by a member of RSC staff carefully carrying his paper cup of red wine. From a BBC documentary a few years ago I knew that Wilson is a close friend of Antony Sher, so he was obviously there to cheer on his pal.
In the late 1970s a friend and I went to see a production of Athol Fugard's play "Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act" in the Haymarket Studio theatre in Leicester. "Statements" tells the story of a white South African librarian and a black school principal who engage in a love affair that is explicitly banned by the Immorality Act; it was developed with two other plays ("Sizwe Bansi is Dead" and "The Island") from a series of improvisational workshops involving Fugard and the actors Yvonne Bryceland, Winston Ntshona and John Kani. At the time, it felt as if apartheid was an evil that was still very much "here to stay".
Fast forward 40-odd years, and here we were in Stratford, waiting to see a play written by John Kani about the quarter of a century that had passed since the first post-apartheid democratic elections in South Africa. Anthony Sher plays Jack Morris, a famous and irascible actor with terminal liver cancer who is, somewhat optimistically, preparing to play King Lear. Kani plays the live-in care worker and nurse, Lunga Kunene, assigned to look after him. "Until when?", asks Morris, mischievously and knowingly; "until you get better", deadpans Kunene. During the uninterrupted 95 minutes of the play these apparently mismatched individuals trade barbs and knock the rough edges off each other as each man comes to understand the other just a little better.
It’s hard to believe that such a story could be ultimately so enjoyable and uplifting. Given their backgrounds, and the rawness of emotions on display, there were, inevitably, scenes of anger and bitterness, but there was also humour, warmth, courage, kindness and compassion. I had tears in my eyes as often as I laughed, and there were plenty of opportunities for both. This was the sort of play that stays with you, and I could easily have sat through the whole production again as soon as it was over.
Afterwards we made our way down to the Swan Cafe for a quick cup of Earl Grey:
As we sat drinking and chatting we became aware of a small group of people two tables along from us; it was John Kani meeting two old friends and enjoying a post-performance ginger beer.
I have always believed that buying a ticket to a play or a musical performance gives one the right to observe that event and nothing more; it does NOT entitle one to hassle performers, to demand to speak to them, to ask for autographs, etc. On the other hand, I have met many who were happy to engage with the audience in this way. As we were leaving, I had five seconds during which to assess whether an approach to Kani would be rebuffed or accommodated. I took a chance and approached the table: "I'm sorry to bother you...". "You're not!!" came the warm and welcoming response from all three. "We just wanted to thank you for a wonderful evening, and wondered if you would sign our programme as a memento...". "Thank you", came the response from Kani, who then not only graciously signed the programme but prefixed his signature with the one word exhortation that perhaps best summed up the evening:
The following reviews are all worth a look (with the possible exception of the Evening Standard, whose reviewer must have been having an off night).
- #BrumHour
- British Theatre Guide
- Broadway World
- Bromsgrove Advertiser
- City Press
- Elementary Whatson
- Evening Standard
- Financial Times
- Leamington Courier
- Leamington Observer
- Morning Star
- Moss Cottage
- New York Times
- Peter Viney's Blog
- Prospect Magazine
- Sincerely Amy
- Stage and Screen
- Stage Review
- Stratford Observer
- Stratford Herald
- Stratford-upon-Avon Blogspot
- The Boar
- The Daily Telegraph
- The Guardian
- The Real Chris Sparkle
- The Stage
- Theatre Cat
- Theatre World
- Warwick Courier
- Whats On Stage
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