Kani, Ntshona and Fugard by Donald Woods

One day, if a historic assessment is made of the most effective opponents of the apartheid system in South Africa, two remarkable actors will be well to the forefront of the heroes of that era. John Kani and Winston Ntshona, through their art and passion as well as the great courage it took to do what they did in that time, broke new ground politically as well as artistically in defiance of the most vicious of all the apartheid regime’s Security Police – those of the Eastern Cape.

These were the Security Police who killed Steve Biko and many others who dared to stand up against the system, and, being from the Port Elizabeth area of the Eastern Cape, Kani and Ntshona worked right under the observation of the worst of these brutal functionaries. Their friendship and collaboration with South Africa’s greatest playwright, Athol Fugard, at a time when all three were young and fearless, openly defied everything the apartheid state stood for, friendships between blacks and whites being the very antithesis of the whole notion of apartheid, and it also began the long association which produced a succession of wonderful plays that formed South Africa’s greatest body of dramatic work for the stage. The Island is one of the greatest of these great plays, and one of the many things which make it great is the fact that though it reflected South African reality at a particular time, it also reflects universal realities in all ages, wherever and whenever one group of human beings tries to oppress another.

Any faithful restaging of the play will emphasise this, though what it cannot quite recapture is the original political atmosphere in South Africa in which The Island was first performed. I remember so well the anticipation and sense of political danger that accompanied Kani, Ntshona and Fugard in those early days of the Serpent Players, as they called themselves, travelling from Port Elizabeth to East London and various other centres in the Eastern Cape, trying out their exciting experiments in drama – and defiance.

And in the midst of their courageous crusade they had time for friendship and some backyard cricket with those of us who admired them. John, I seem to recall, was a somewhat reckless batsman, but Winston was a good offspin bowler with nagging accuracy and flight. And they were both accomplished celebrators afterwards, with few liquor supplies proving adequate to their vast enjoyment of what the brewers and distillers of the land could provide.

They worked hard and played hard, but were never less than totally professional on the stage, so that even now, more than 30 years after those initial plays, it is exciting to see that these prodigies have all become more prodigious. Always actors of obvious talent, even as young men, John and Winston have developed into masters of their art and craft and are today, in my opinion, at the peak of their greatness. And Fugard, of course, is a phenomenon, whose genius is acknowledged internationally. What a trio! We of the Eastern Cape are justifiably proud of them, and we are no strangers to greatness, having also produced in our area such great names as Mandela, Biko, Sisulu and Mbeki.

For me one of the defining moments of life during the dark days of apartheid involved John Kani and Winston Ntshona, who had been arrested and imprisoned without trial for unspecified offences – other than the obvious “crime” then of ridiculing our rulers from the stages of our township theatres. After several tense weeks, during which their friends could learn nothing of their situation or state of health in detention, I happened to be in a bar in the huge Port Elizabeth township of New Brighton, when I suddenly felt a slap on the back and heard gales of familiar laughter. It was John and Winston, freshly released and celebrating the fact at the nearest bar!

They were in top form, without a word about their prison conditions or being beaten up or anything other than the all-important thought of ordering another round of beer. And I remember thinking then that, pitted against the likes of these two men, the apartheid system could never win. They were so much bigger than it.

How appropriate, also, that through their many great plays such as The Island, they and Athol Fugard were able to light flames of political defiance all over South Africa as well as spreading throughout the world the realisation that economic and diplomatic pressures against apartheid from the international community could save many lives by shortening the lifespan of apartheid.

These things actually happened. People like them made them happen.

© Donald Woods, December 1999

Donald Woods CBE was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the Daily Dispatch, he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after being detained by the South African government.