Written By: ATHOL FUGARD, JOHN KANI, WINSTON NTSHONA

Directed By: RICARDO KHAN

In Collaboration with Tony Award® Winner John Kani (Black Panther, Mufasa:The Lion King)

One man’s death becomes another’s salvation in this indictment of South Africa’s Apartheid system which lasted through the 1990s. Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, was written by South African playwright Athol Fugard in collaboration with John Kani and Winston Ntshona. Both actors/playwrights, Kani and Ntshona received Tony’s in 1975, for their starring roles in the play’s Broadway production. The Crossroads production of Sizwe is in collaboration with John Kani, the last remaining member of the writing team.

ABOUT JOHN KANI

John Kani is a South African actor, playwright, director, and cultural activist. He received the 1975 Tony Award for his performances in The Island and Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, which he co-wrote with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona. A longtime member of Johannesburg’s Market Theatre, his stage credits include Driving Miss Daisy, Othello, Miss Julie, My Children! My Africa! (Vita Award), and Nothing But the Truth (Fleur du Cap Award for Best Actor and Best New South African Play). He wrote and starred in Kunene and the King for the Royal Shakespeare Company, receiving the Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Award. His film and television work includes The Grass Is Singing, “Master Harold”…and the Boys, An African Dream, Saturday Night at the Palace, Sarafina!, The Ghost and the Darkness, Final Solution, The Lion King (2019) and Mufasa: The Lion King as “Rafiki,” and portraying “King T’Chaka” in Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther. In 2005, he was awarded South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver. He is the founder of the John Kani Performing Arts Academy. In 2023, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 2025, the World Wildlife Fund awarded him the Living Planet Award for his work in nature conservation and climate change.

ABOUT CROSSROADS THEATRE COMPANY

Founded by Ricardo Khan and L. Kenneth Richardson, Crossroads Theatre Company is the nation’s premier theatre company with its commitment to works celebrating black culture and diasporic artistry while creating a cross-cultural bridge for understanding and appreciation for all people. Since 1978, Crossroads Theatre Company has been a sanctuary and creative home for some of the world's most treasured theatre practitioners. We have launched over 100 productions and premiered over 50 new plays, and provided 35 playwrights with their first production. The company has also garnered several accolades and awards including 4 TONY® Nominations and received the TONY AWARD® for Outstanding Regional Theatre. To date, Crossroads remains the first and only culturally specific company to have that honor.

For more information, visit www.crossroadstheatrecompany.com.

SIZWE BANZI IS DEAD | OPENING NIGHT

Celebrating Tony Award® Winner John Kani

Our Wins!

Team Members