I was 51 when I voted for the first time in 1994, and I look at South Africa through those spectacles. John Kani Read Quote
Shakespeare’s words paint pictures in glorious colour in my language. They were written by a man whose use of words fits exactly into Xhosa. John Kani Read Quote
Acting became a powerful tool for change. You had to tell stories that were important to you. John Kani Read Quote
When I first encountered Shakespeare as a boy, I read every word this man has written. To me, he is like an African storyteller. John Kani Read Quote
In South Africa in 1987, apartheid was still going strong. Some of the most brutal race laws had been relaxed, but they hadn’t yet been repealed. There was still a lot of tension. John Kani Read Quote
In any character you are given to play, be it evil/good/whatever character, you begin with self. You examine yourself and ruthlessly see similarities between you and the devil, or between you and the dictator, or between you and the kind man. John Kani Read Quote
When western culture developed, we became detached from nature, detached from our relationship with the animals. We saw animals perhaps as only the rhino horn, the elephant’s tusk, we saw it as making money. John Kani Read Quote
You can give me any of Shakespeare’s plays and I’ll tell you a parallel African folktale. John Kani Read Quote