
Missing
A Play
John Kani(Author)
Wits University Press
Published on 1. July 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-86814-889-9 (ISBN)
Description
Missing is the story of Robert Khalipa, an ANC cadre living in exile, who is very senior in the organisation but is left out of the negotiations and almost forgotten in Sweden. Robert has a wealthy Swedish wife, Anna, and they have a daughter who is a practising doctor in a hospital in Stockholm. There is also Robert's protege Peter Tshabalala, junior in the organisation, yet he gets the call to return to South African to join the democratic government. What follows is a story of conspiracies, lies, back stabbing and disappointments. Robert and his family are faced with the challenges of a South Africa that has changed radically from the one he remembers from more than thirty years ago. The government, in his opinion, does not seem to uphold the principles enshrined in the Freedom Charter. There is also conflict within his own family. Robert wants to stay in South Africa, while his wife and daughter want to go back to Sweden. Their love is tested to breaking point and difficult decisions have to be made by every individual. As with Kani's very successful and often-performed previous play, Nothing but the Truth, the ambiguities of freedom and of personal commitment are explored in this play.
Reviews / Votes
John Kani's Missing is a powerful post-apartheid paradox. The leadership issues we face are no longer about black or white ... they are a kaleidoscope of bright, compelling and confronting colours which challenge our very identity as a nation. Through this evocative play we are enabled to confront our own stories of personal commitment and political pragmatism.- Melanie Burke, Common Purpose South Africa
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Johannesburg
South Africa
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
5 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 185 mm
Width: 124 mm
Thickness: 8 mm
Weight
91 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-86814-889-9 (9781868148899)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
John Kani is a South African actor, director and playwright. He co-wrote Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona in the early 1970s. Nothing but the Truth (2002), which was his debut as sole playwright, was first performed at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. Nothing but the Truth has been prescribed for many years for Grade 12 learners.
Content
Contents: Missing: John Kani's Meditation; Introduction by Njabulo S Ndebele; Foreword by John Kani; Images from the first Market Theatre performance of Missing; Missing; Cast; Act I; Act II Scene 1; Scene 2.