GUTHRIE THEATER PRESENTS KUNENE AND THE KING BY TONY AWARD WINNER JOHN KANI, DIRECTED BY RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON

Kani, the celebrated South African playwright and actor known for his groundbreaking contributions to theater and his acclaimed screen performances in Black Panther and Mufasa: The Lion King, brings a powerful story of empathy and unexpected connection to the Guthrie

Previews begin Saturday, October 10; Opening on Thursday, October 15
Playing through Sunday, November 8 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage

(Minneapolis/St. Paul) — The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director) today announced the cast and creative team for the presentation of Octopus Theatricals’ Kunene and the King by John Kani, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Kunene and the King begins previews on Saturday, October 10, opens on Thursday, October 15 and will play through Sunday, November 8 on the McGuire Proscenium Stage. Single and group tickets are now on sale exclusively through the Box Office or online at guthrietheater.org. Accessibility services (ASL-interpreted, audio-described and open-captioned performances) are also available on select dates and by request.

“The play takes place 25 years after apartheid, and we see two very different men enter into a tenuous understanding that begins with an exploration of Shakespeare,” said Artistic Director Joseph Haj. “Their unexpected common ground — and the complexities of the conversations that follow — has a lot to teach us about overcoming differences to truly see each other. Renowned activist and artist John Kani has devoted several years of his career to this powerful play, and we’re so excited to have his work and his presence with us at the Guthrie.”

John Kani’s Kunene and the King premiered at Royal Shakespeare Company in London in April 2019, in association with the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town, starring Kani as Lunga Kunene and Anthony Sher as Jack Morris. The show later had its U.S. premiere in early 2025 at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., with Edward Gero in the role of Jack Morris. Both Kani and Gero will reprise their roles at the Guthrie. Kunene and the King is an Octopus Theatricals production (All the Devils Are Here, On Beckett) and marks the first play by John Kani presented at the Guthrie.

Set in post-apartheid South Africa in 2019, Kunene and the King begins when 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.

The cast of Kunene and the King includes Edward Gero (Guthrie: The Lehman Trilogy) as Jack Morris, John Kani (Guthrie: debut) as Lunga Kunene and Ntebo (Guthrie: debut) as Isithunywa.

The creative team includes John Kani (Playwright), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Director), Lawrence E. Moten III (Scenic Designer), Karen Perry (Costume Designer), Rui Rita (Lighting Designer), DJ Potts (Sound Designer), Stewert Productions/Bethany Weinstein Stewert (Tour Production Manager), Alyssa K. Howard (Production Stage Manager), Kathryn Sam Houkom (Assistant Stage Manager), Gabby S. Trice (Associate Scenic Designer), Jon Ontiveros (Associate Lighting Designer), Kaileykielle Hoga (Associate Sound Designer), Timothy Johnson (Associate Director), Robert Mahon (Tour Technical Director), Mara Isaacs (Executive Producer) and Bryan Hunt (Tour Producer).

Biographies

John Kani (Playwright) is a South African actor, activist, director and award-winning playwright internationally recognized for his work in theater and films. He is best known to American audiences for his 1975 Tony Award-winning performances in The Island and Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, which he co-wrote with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, for which he received a special Obie Award for extraordinary contribution to theater. A member of The Market Theatre, his credits include Driving Miss Daisy, Othello, Blood Knot, Waiting for Godot, Playland, Duet for One and My Children! My Africa! (Vita Award). Film credits include The Wild Geese, The Grass Is Singing, Marigolds in August, Victims of Apartheid, An African Dream, A Dry White Season, Sarafina!, Saturday Night at the Palace (Taormina Golden Award at Milan International Festival), Kini and Adams, The Ghost and the Darkness, Final Solution, The Lion King (2019) and T’Chaka in Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther. Directing credits include Gorée and Blues Africa Café by Matsemela Manaka, Kagoos by Kessie Govender and The Meeting by Jeff Stetson for The Market Theatre. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his contribution to South African art and culture, as well as several honorary doctorates. Nothing but the Truth won a Fleur du Cap Award for Best Actor and Best New South African Play in 2002. Kani received the Pragnell Shakespeare Award from Royal Shakespeare Company for Kunene and the King and the Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Award for making Shakespeare accessible to all. He was recognized with the Van Toeka Af Living Legends Award for his lifelong dedication and service to the creative industry in South Africa and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his service to the arts and culture globally. 

Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Director) has expansive directing credits, including Manhattan Theatre Club’s Tony Award-winning production of Jitney. Other Broadway productions are Skeleton Crew (Obie Award, six Tony nominations) and Lackawanna Blues (Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, NY Drama Critics’ Circle, Helen Hayes), which marked the first time in Broadway history that an individual wrote, directed and starred in a play. Select directing credits include The Piano Lesson, Paradise Blue, Two Trains Running, The Happiest Song Plays Last, Destiny of Desire, Your Blues Ain’t Sweet Like Mine, Gem of the Ocean, The First Breeze of Summer, My Children! My Africa!, Seven Guitars and Othello. He made his Broadway acting debut in Jelly’s Last Jam opposite Gregory Hines. His portrayal of Canewell in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars garnered him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Some of his other most cherished stage acting credits include the Broadway productions of Lackawanna Blues, Stick Fly, Gem of the Ocean and Jelly’s Last Jam and the Off-Broadway productions of August Wilson’s autobiographical play How I Learned What I Learned, The Winter’s Tale, Henry VIII and Measure for Measure (The NY Shakespeare Festival), East Texas Hot Links (The Public Theater) and Ceremonies in Dark Old Men (The Negro Ensemble Company). 

Founded by creative producer Mara Isaacs, Octopus Theatricals collaborates with artists and organizations to foster an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local and global audiences. Current projects: All the Devils Are Here (Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards, Off-Broadway, U.S. Tour); 300 Paintings created by Sam Kissajukian; The Song of Rome by Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson; Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding’s …(Iphigenia); Get Out Alive by Nikki Lynette; In the Same Tongue by choreographer Dianne McIntyre with music by Diedre Murray; Social! Dance Club conceived by Steven Hoggett, Christine Jones and David Byrne; Bill Irwin’s On Beckett; And So We Walked by DeLanna Studi; Theatre for One (in person and virtual); and many more. octopustheatricals.com

Related Events

Community Creates: Kunene and the King
Thursday, October 29, 5:30–7 p.m.
Dowling Studio
Learn about adaptations of Shakespeare and try your hand at retelling the Bard’s work through your own lens. This event is free, but registration is required. Learn more at guthrietheater.org/kunene.

Post-Play Discussions

Patrons are invited to stay in the theater following select performances for a 20-minute conversation about the production facilitated by Guthrie staff. Cast members may join the discussion as they are able.

Sunday, October 18 at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, October 20 at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, October 21 at 1 p.m.
Sunday, November 1 at 1 p.m.
Saturday, November 7 at 1 p.m. 

Accessible Performances

ASL-Interpreted Performances
American Sign Language interpreters sign the performance as it plays out onstage.

Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 7 at 1 p.m.

Audio-Described Performances
Audio describers provide live verbal descriptions of the action, costumes and scenery for people who are blind or have low vision.

Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 7 at 1 p.m.

Open-Captioned Performances
LED screens display text simultaneously with the performance onstage.

Wednesday, October 28 at 1 p.m.
Saturday, October 31 at 1 p.m.
Wednesday, November 4 at 1 p.m.
Sunday, November 8 at 1 p.m. 

The Guthrie provides accessibility services upon request. Requests must be received at least two weeks in advance and can be directed to 612.225.6390 or accessibility@guthrietheater.org.

Ticket Information

Single tickets range from $27 to $91 (handling fees included). Purchase single and group tickets (minimum requirement of 15 per group) through the Box Office at 612.377.2224 (single), 1.877.447.8243 (toll-free), 612.225.6244 (group) or online at guthrietheater.org. The Guthrie Theater Box Office is the only official and most secure source for Guthrie tickets. We cannot guarantee the validity of tickets purchased through any other vendor or third-party seller.

Land Acknowledgment

The Guthrie would like to acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the Dakota People and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations, including the Ojibwe and other Indigenous nations.

The GUTHRIE THEATER (Joseph Haj, Artistic Director) is an American center for theater performance in Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to producing a thrilling mix of classic plays and bold new work while cultivating the next generation of artists and theatergoers. Under Haj’s leadership, the Guthrie is guided by four core values: Artistic Excellence; Community; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility; and Fiscal Responsibility. Since its founding in 1963, the theater has continued to set a national standard for excellence in the field and serve the people of Minnesota and beyond.

Located on the Mississippi River in the historic Mill District, the Guthrie houses three state-of-the-art stages, production facilities, classrooms, dramatic public spaces and Indígena by Owamni, a one-of-a-kind dining destination led by James Beard Award-winning Chef Sean Sherman. Open to the public six days a week, the Guthrie welcomes audiences and visitors from the Twin Cities, the region and around the world to experience exceptional theater, breathtaking architecture and riverfront views at one of Minneapolis’ most notable civic and cultural resources. guthrietheater.org