All the world’s a stage
In his time, Setlhabi Taunyane has played many parts, including 1970s theatre star in Toronto and current soap sensation in South Africa
In the 1970s, when Setlhabi Taunyane’s theatre troupe came to Toronto from South Africa during apartheid, all eight members elected to apply for asylum in Canada.
When this photo was taken by Star photographer Don Dutton in 1978, Taunyane had just completed his immigration examination. His application was successful, and Taunyane spent the next decade and a half acting on the stage in Canada.
His performance in the 1994 production of “Survival!” at the Helen Gardiner Playhouse was reviewed in the Star, whose critic noted the “fine comedy and poignancy” of Taunyane’s performance.
By the mid-1990s, apartheid restrictions had lifted, and Taunyane returned to South Africa. The reception he received, however, devastated him. His parents and extended family rejected him, and his situation deteriorated to the extent that he ended up living on the street.
“My life was tough,” Taunyane told South Africa’s Move! Magazine in 2020. “Some of my relatives called me ikwerekwere (a derisive term for ‘foreigner’ in Xhosa).”
Thankfully, his indomitable spirit saved him. “I’m grateful to all the people who wrote me off,” he said. “Without them, I would not have had this drive to succeed in life.” And succeed he did: Taunyane’s acting talents eventually landed him roles opposite Hollywood stars like Danny Glover (in the 2005 film “Where Others Wavered,” about Namibia’s independence movement) and Chris Evans (in 2019’s “The Red Sea Diving Resort”).
But it was on TV that Setlhabi Taunyane became a household name in South Africa, playing the beloved character Bra Kop on the long-running soap opera “Rhythm City,” which is about the behind-the-scenes drama of working in the music industry.
Taunyane joined the “soapie” in 2007 and has been a staple on the show ever since. After 14 years, “Rhythm City” is set to end this summer; its final episode airs on July 16.
The soon-to-be-65-year-old Taunyane has certainly earned a peaceful retirement, but his fans undoubtedly hope to see him on the stage and screen for years to come — perhaps even one day back here in Toronto, his always welcoming home away from home.