Photos: KUNENE AND THE KING at Shakespeare Theatre Company

The U.S. premiere of John Kani’s Kunene and the King has extended its run at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Performances will now run through March 23. Plus, check out all new photos below!

Kunene and the King, written by and starring South African Tony Award-winning actor, activist, and playwright Kani, follows the unexpected bond between a terminally ill classical Shakespearean actor Jack Morris (Gero) and his caregiver Lunga Kunene (Kani), set 25 years after the first post-apartheid democratic elections in South Africa.

John Kani makes his STC debut with Kunene and the King. A noted actor, activist actor, director, and award-winning playwright, his work has been performed internationally. His long-ranging career includes such varied credits as a 1975 Tony Award–winning performances in The Island and Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, which he co-wrote with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, and the iconic role of T'Chaka in Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther, as well as the voice of Rafiki in the recently released Mufasa movie.

Edward Gero is a long-familiar face to STC audiences, having appeared in over 80 productions in the company’s nearly 40-year history, most recently in the 23/24 production of The Lehman Trilogy, which he revived this fall at the Guthrie Theatre. In addition, he has performed extensively throughout the Washington, D.C., region, off-Broadway, and beyond.

Joining Kani and Gero in the company is musical performer Ntebo, providing vocal accompaniment in a new addition to this production, the Spirit of Africa. Ntebo is an acclaimed South African artist originally from the Eastern Cape, now based in the Washington, D.C. area, whose music style is a unique blend of classical opera training with African folk, jazz, and Afro-soul.

Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson's many credits include Broadway productions of JITNEY!, Skeleton Crew, and Lackawanna Blues—which he also wrote and starred in—as well as dozens of regional productions around the country. As an actor, he has appeared on Broadway (earning a Tony Award for his performance in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars), off-Broadway, and in film and TV.

Joining the production as covers for Kani and Gero are L. Peter Callender and John Lescault, respectively. Callender has a lengthy resume of Broadway, off-Broadway, and Shakespeare credits around the country, including serving as the Artistic Director for the African-American Shakespeare Company for 15 years and Artistic Associate at California Shakespeare Theater for 25 years. Lescault is familiar to STC audiences, having appeared in over a dozen productions here, including the Macau Arts Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as frequently throughout the Washington, D.C. theatre community.

The creative team includes Scenic Designer Lawrence E. Moten III, Costume Designer Karen Perry, Lighting Designer Rui Rita, Sound Designer DJ Potts, Associate Director Timothy Johnson, Dialect Coach Deborah Hecht, and Fight Consultant Sierra Young. Dramaturgy is by STC Artistic Producer Drew Lichtenberg. Casting for the production is by Caparelliotis Casting (David Caparelliotis, CSA and Joe Gery) as well as STC’s Resident Casting Director Danica Rodriguez. 

The production is produced in association with Octopus Theatricals.

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