Winston Ntshona
Winston Ntshona | |
---|---|
Born | Port Elizabeth, South Africa | 6 October 1941
Died | 2 August 2018 New Brighton, South Africa | (aged 76)
Education | Newell High School, Port Elizabeth |
Occupation(s) | Actor, playwright |
Years active | 1974–2012 |
Winston Ntshona (6 October 1941 – 2 August 2018) was a South African playwright and actor. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1975.
Biography
Born in
Career
Ntshona attended Newell High School in
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead
In 1972–73, he was a cast member of the critically acclaimed stage play Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, which premiered at the Space Theatre in Cape Town,[4] a play critical of the Apartheid government's pass laws of the time. Sizwe Banzi is Dead was invited to play for a one-off show in New York, but word of the play soon spread to Europe. A national tour of England was followed by an invitation to play at London's Royal Court Theatre for a six-week run. They returned to the United States for an extensive run of the show on Broadway. Between 1967 and 1972 Ntshona appeared in over 20 stage productions for the Serpent Players.[2] The success of Sizwe Banzi is Dead was quickly followed up with the equally acclaimed play The Island. The Serpent Players returned to South Africa in 1976 and began to tour both Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island in rural areas around the country, where they also conducted acting workshops.[1]
Film career
Ntshona's first screen role came when he and Kani were invited by producer
In 1979 he appeared in Michael Hastings' monologue Full Frontal at the Royal Court Theatre in London.[5]
With Fugard and
Arrests
In October 1976 Ntshona and Kani were arrested and thrown into solitary confinement for 15 days by the then Transkei government. The order was given by the Minister of Justice George Matanzima, who was also brother to the Prime Minister of the Transkei homeland, Kaiser Matanzima. They were held under the Transkei's Proclamation R.400, because Matanzima believed the play Sizwe Banzi Is Dead had 'inflammable, abusive and vulgar subject matter'.[3]
Personal life and death
In 2010 Ntshona was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver for his vast contribution to the South African arts and culture landscape.[2]
Ntshona died on 2 August 2018, following a lengthy undisclosed illness. He was 76.[6][7]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1978 | The Wild Geese | President Julius Limbani | |
1979 | Ashanti | Ansok | |
1980 | Marigolds in August | Daan | |
1980 | The Dogs of War | Dr. Okoye | |
1982 | Gandhi | Porter | |
1988 | The Stick | The Witchdoctor | |
1989 | A Dry White Season | Gordon Ngubene | |
1990 | Night of the Cyclone | Quett | |
1992 | The Power of One | Mlungisi | |
1994 | The Air Up There | Urudu | |
1998 | Tarzan and the Lost City |
Mugambe | |
2000 | I Dreamed of Africa | Old Pokot Chief | |
2001 | Malunde | Grandfather Khumalo | |
2006 | Blood Diamond |
Old Mende Man |
References
- ^ a b c d e "Rand Daily Mail. "Rise Of A President". Readex. Accessed: 10th August 2018" (PDF). 0-public-maximus-newsbank-com.innopac.wits.ac.za. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Biographies". South African History Online. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Rand Daily Mail. "Deported Actors Don't Know Why They Were Held". Readex. Accessed: 10th August 2018" (PDF). 0-public-maximus-newsbank-com.innopac.wits.ac.za. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ Klaff, Jack (31 August 2018). "Winston Ntshona obituary". The Guardian.
- ISBN 978-0-14-048158-7
- ^ Daniels, Angela (2 August 2018). "Theatre doyen Winston Ntshona dies". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ Bartlett, Rhett (2 August 2018). "Winston Ntshona, South African Actor in 'A Dry White Season,' Dies at 76". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
External links
- Winston Ntshona at the Internet Broadway Database
- Winston Ntshona at IMDb