Book reviews

KING KONG -- OUR KNOT OF TIME & MUSIC Pat Williams Loot.co.za (R169) Portobello

FOR many, the mention of King Kong may evoke images of a gorilla climbing a New York skyscraper.

For others, the words may relate to the South African musical King Kong, which recently enjoyed a sold-out run at The Fugard Theatre.

This musical has a fascinating history.

A new book, King Kong – Our Knot of Time & Music, written by the musical’s lyricist Pat Williams, provides this background and much more.

In 1959, Williams was a 23-yearold Rand Daily Mail journalist when she was approached to write the lyrics. She accepted the challenge, not knowing she was treading a path that would transform her life and create history.

The original production drew more than 200 000 people in South Africa and enjoyed a successful run in London’s West End. The cast included names that have since become entertainment legends here: Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Letta Mbulu, Abigail Kubeka, Thandi Klaasen, Abdullah Ibrahim, Caiphus Semenya and Kippie Moeketsi.

This book is a personal memoir of a musical conceived at a time when apartheid was at its peak.

Many of today’s theatregoers were not around in the South Africa of 1959. The book contextualises the people involved and the “snakes and ladders” creation of a ground-breaking production.

Williams’s recollections and her writing make for a warm, nostalgic, illuminating and enjoyable read – and the latest stage production of King Kong is said to be “better than new”.