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[[left page]] In 1965 I walked into a rehearsal room of The Serpent Players, a drama group in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth. The group consisted of black men and women who lived in my township in New Brighton and one white member, Athol Fugard. This surprised me as I was aware that the laws of the country at that time prohibited any mixing between black and white people. Actually it was illegal, what was happening in that room. They were discussing Antigone by Sophocles, a play that they were rehearsing. Someone in the group said Antigone was right to break the law of the state, that she was right to challenge the state and that the state was unjust and undemocratic in passing such a law. For me, that was the perfect marriage between art and politics and thus began my long relationship with Athol Fugard. The same year the group (I was now a member) collaborated with Athol and created the first workshopped play called The Coat. This process of workshopping a play from the stories that came from our lives and our communities became the way of creating new work in South Africa. The Coat was followed by The Last Bus, Friday's Bread on Monday, The Cure, Sell Out and, of course, Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island. All these were part of a series that we called "Experiments in Play Making." Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island took us to London and of course America, where I won a Tony Award for Best Actor on Broadway in 1975. The Tony meant that I had to neglect my favorite pastime, storytelling and writing. I focused mainly on acting in plays, television and movies. In 1990, when Nelson Mandela was released, we as cultural activists came together to assist the government in structuring arts and culture policies. In 1994 South Africa became a democracy; our work focused on rebuilding our country and our society. In 1996 together with the Department of Arts and Culture we established the first National Arts Council of South Africa, of which I was the inaugural chair until May of this year. At the same time, I have been running the Market Theatre in Johannesburg with a Training and Education Programme for the youth of South Africa that missed out on formal education. In 2000 I began to long for my favorite pastime, storytelling. I decided to write a little story as a tribute to my younger brother who was a poet of the struggle against Apartheid, and was shot by the police in 1985 while reciting one of his poems at the funeral of a nine year old girl who was killed during the so called riots. The story I was writing about the poet took a pleasant turn and became about the [[advertisement]] DISCOVER THE HITS BEFORE THEY HIT BROADWAY Subscribe to London Theatre News - the insider's guide to London theatre - and be the first to know about exciting West End hits before they reach New York. Each monthly newsletter is packed with exclusive reviews, previews, dining tips, lively interviews and up-to-date theatre listings. One year, $53; six months, $31; three months introductory offer, $23. To order, call 212-517-8608. [[/advertisement]] [[/left page]] [[right page]] poet's father. I wrote this play, Nothing But The Truth, to bring closure in my heart to the death of my brother, Xolile Kani, to whom this play is dedicated. I wanted to remember him with fondness and a sense of gratitude for the ultimate price that he paid so that I could be free in a free, democratic South Africa. Nothing But The Truth is a story of two brothers, of sibling rivalry, of family secrets, of truth and reconciliation, of exile and of the perplexities of our freedoms and democracy. -John Kani GLOSSARY BRA HUGH AND SIS MIRIAM - Hugh Masakela and Miriam Makeba - internationally renowned South African musician and singer, here familiarly called "brother" and "sister" for their active role in opposing Apartheid. PASSBOOK - the identity papers given all non-whites were required to carry during the Apartheid era. TRC - Truth and Reconciliation Commission - the public hearings set up by President Mandela from 1994 to 1996 for victims of the Apartheid era. THE CRADDOCK CASE - An actual case in which the South African police burned three men to death in a car and left their charred bodies on the side of the road. LOBOLA - marriage dowry. SHEBEEN - An illegal "speakeasy," often found in a township home. SKOKIAAN - home brew sold in a shebeen. ANC - African National Congress - Anti-Apartheid party led by Oliver Thambo banned during the Apartheid era. PHUTU - crumbled porridge, MOGODU - trip, PAP AND STEAK - corn porridge and steak - traditional African food. UBUNTU - African word for "humanity." 1994 - Year of the first democratic election in the history of South Africa. UNISA - University of South Africa - a college that grants degrees by correspondence courses. KEMPTON PARK DELEGATION - Delegation whose members included Nelson Mandela and Cyril Ramaphosa, who negotiated with the last white South African government led by F.W. de Klerk to create the new democratic South African government. UDF - United Democratic Front - a resistance movement whose members remained in South Africa to fight the Apartheid regime. [[advertisement]] Tony May's SANDOMENICO Visit our restaurant before or after the show Pre-theatre $32.50. Lunch $20.03. 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