Kani, Sandra reunion
No ‘immorality act’ for actors
Seasoned thespian John Kani was arrested for kissing a white woman in 1985.
Kani and Sandra Prinsloo were acting in the stage play Miss Julie at the Market Theatre in Newtown. Due to the Immorality Act, Kani was arrested.
Thirty years later, the two meet again in an Afrikaans production So Ry Miss Daisy that has been translated from English, Driving Miss Daisy.
The play’s run at Opera House Theatre in Port Elizabeth ended on Saturday. Kani said: “It feels good that me and Sandra again we meet on stage at a different time, though we are not kissing.”
Prinsloo plays Miss Daisy, while Kani is her chauffeur.
“Miss Daisy is too old to drive herself. Her son decides to hire her a chauffeur, a black one nogal, but Miss Daisy does not want to be driven around.
“But later the two’s relationship grows in spite of the colour barrier and their respective social standing.”
Kani said the show featured in festivals in Mbombela, Oudtshoorn, Stellenbosch, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth. “I decided to end the run in PE where I was born to honour my people.”
Kani said it was a great honour to perform at Opera House situated on John Kani Road.
The street was previously known as White Street. In April it was changed by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. “It is the greatest honour to be honoured while alive. Two years ago, Market Theatre named one of its stages after me.”