"Kunene and the King" at The Guthrie

Curtain time is 7pm.
We'll meet in the Target Lounge on the 4th floor at 6:15 for refreshments and chat before the play. We meet at the high tables on the right side of the bar at the back.

Please go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/whats-on/kunene-and-the-king/instance-list to buy your ticket. I'll be in Aisle 2, Row D, Seat 211.

A powerful story of connection

In post-apartheid South Africa in 2019, Lunga Kunene, a no-nonsense Black caregiver with little patience for privilege or hubris, finds himself providing in-home care for Jack Morris, a celebrated (and stubborn) white actor facing a life-changing diagnosis as he rehearses for the title role in King Lear. The two men are different in every way — race, class and politics, to start — yet they find unexpected common ground in the words of Shakespeare. This refreshingly funny and vital new play by Tony winner John Kani, who also plays Kunene, traces the fragile work of truth-telling in a nation still shaped by its history and reveals how transcending the past may allow us to truly see one another.

Three things to know

South African activist, playwright and Tony-winning actor John Kani serves as both author and performer in this poignant new play, which also features award-winning actor Edward Gero (The Lehman Trilogy).
Kunene and the King has close ties to King Lear, featuring both lines from the text and references to Shakespeare. Kani also used King Lear as a structural model for the play, which echoes, but doesn’t duplicate, the Bard’s iconic tragedy.
The Guthrie has presented several productions by Octopus Theatricals in recent seasons that captivated audiences, including Bill Irwin’s On Beckett and Patrick Page’s All the Devils Are Here.