Jonathan Khumbulani Nkala

(1980-2014) Playwright and performer. Born in Zimbabwe, he led an extraordinary life, fleeing to South Africa in 2005*?, and travelling to Cape Town. Here he sold beads and told his story on Camps Bay beach. He was discovered as a playwright and performer by director Bo Petersen, who helped him shape the story of his journey as a one-man play originally called The Journey (2006) and reworked as The Crossing in 2008.

His life was ultimately documented in a trilogy of plays he developed and performed over time, and these were published by Junkets Publishers as Cockroach: a Trilogy of Plays in 2011. The three plays are The Bicycle Thief (childhood), Faith in Love (adolescence) and The Crossing (young adulthood).

Died of cancer in Zimbabwe in May 2014.

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