I hugged a legend!

Last night John and I went to London to see Sizwe Bansi is Dead with the two original cast members, John Kani and Winston Ntshona (who are also two of the three co-authors, the third being Athol Fugard). If you don't know the story, you really need to research it. Sadly, this is the last time these two giants of South African theatre history will be doing it.

Thanks to an arrangement by the UCT alumni association, we attended a reception afterwards that was attended by John Kani.

The play is set in PE in the 70s, and it got right into me. One of the characters was from King William's Town, making it very close to home. You knew that they were telling the stories of people they knew and it hurt, even when it was funny. Maybe especially when it was funny. So much so that, when Kani arrived at the reception, I went to this total stranger and hugged him and burst into tears. He was lovely. So gracious. He hugged me right back and kissed me on the head, as if he were comforting me. I can't explain how I felt in that moment, but I think he must have encountered that reaction many times before. I'm not one for being starstruck and I'm not much impressed by fame, but this was something different. I think I would only have felt more moved if I had met Mandela himself!

Someone took our picture. Of course, my eyes were puffy and my makeup was gone, but I'm very proud of it, just the same.