Winston Ntshona (6 October 1941 – 2 August 2018) was a South African

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Biography

Born in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

, Zola Winston Ntshona worked alongside fellow South African

Athol Fugard Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apart ...

on several occasions, most notably in the 1980 film version of Fugard's play '' Marigolds in August'', and played a minor role in

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisi ...

's acclaimed film '' Gandhi'' (1982) and a major role in the film '' A Dry White Season'' (1989).

Career

Ntshona attended Newell High School in

, where he met long time collaborator and South African acting legend John Kani. Between 1963 and 1972 Ntshona worked as a laboratory assistant in a timber factory. In 1967 he joined the Serpent Players drama group alongside John Kani and

. Black members of the drama group all had day time jobs. Rehearsals and workshops would take place in the evenings or during weekends. Reputation of their work grew over time, and Winston Ntshona had to quit his job at the timber factory, becoming an employee of The Serpent Players. With Fugard and John Kani, Ntshona wrote the 1973 play ''The Island''. He and Kani starred in a number of major international productions over the next 30 years. Ntshona and Kani were co-winners of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

for Best Actor in a play for their performance in both ''The Island'' and '' Sizwe Banzi Is Dead'', which he also co-wrote. This was a first for black actors at the time.

''Sizwe Banzi Is Dead''

In 1973 he was a cast member of the critically acclaimed stage play '' Sizwe Banzi Is Dead'', a play critical of the Apartheid government's pass laws of the time. ''Sizwe Banzi is Dead'' was invited to play for a once 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

for an extensive run of the show on Broadway. Between 1967 and 1972 Ntshona appeared in over 20 stage productions for the Serpent Players. 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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

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.

Film career

Ntshona's first screen role came when he and Kani were invited by producer Euan Lloyd to audition for roles in a British film. Ntshona played deposed President Julius Limbani, the subject of a rescue attempt in ''

The Wild Geese ''The Wild Geese'' is a 1978 war film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen and starring Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris, and Hardy Krüger. The screenplay concerns a group of mercenaries in Africa. It was the result of a long-held ambit ...

'' (1978). Limbani is based on Moise Tshombe. He also played a similar role in '' The Dogs of War'' (1980) as Dr. Okoye, a moderate political figure thrown in jail by the dictator President Kimba of the fictional Republic of Zangaro. His other film credits include roles in '' Ashanti'' (1979), ''Night of the Cyclone'' (1991), '' The Power of One'' (1992), '' The Air Up There'' (1994) and '' Tarzan and the Lost City'' (1998). In 1979 he appeared in Michael Hastings' monologue '' Full Frontal'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

in London. With Fugard and John Kani, Ntshona wrote the 1973 play '' The Island'', in which he and Kani starred in a number of major international productions over the next 30 years. He and Kani were co-winners of the

for Best Actor in a Play for their performance in both ''The Island'' and '' Sizwe Banzi Is Dead'', which he also co-wrote.

Arrests

In October 1976 Ntshona and Kani were arrested and thrown into solitary confinement for 15 days by the then

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ba ...

government. The order was given by the Minister of Justice

George Matanzima Chief George Mzimvubu Mathanzima (26 December 1918 in Qamata – 10 November 2000) was a leader of the Transkei bantustan in South Africa, a young brother of Kaiser Matanzima and a nephew of Nelson Mandela. He and his brother, Kaiser co-founde ...

, 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'.

National honours

In 2010 Ntshona was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver for his vast contribution to the South African arts and culture landscape. Ntshona died on 2 August 2018, following a lengthy undisclosed illness. He was 76.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ntshona, Winston 1941 births 2018 deaths People from Port Elizabeth South African dramatists and playwrights South African male film actors South African male stage actors Tony Award winners 20th-century South African male actors 21st-century South African male actors Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century South African writers 20th-century South African male writers