Jonathan Khumbulani Nkala

(1980-2014) Playwright and performer. Born in Zimbabwe, he led an extraordinary life, fleeing to South Africa in 200*, and travelling to Cape Town. Here he sold beads, and was discovered as a playwright and performer by director Bo Petersen, who helped him shape his story 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 plays he developed over time, and published by Junkets Publishers as Cockroach: a Trilogy of Plays (2011). The three plays are The Bicycle Thief (childhood), Faith in Love (adolescence) and The Crossing (young adulthood).

Died of cancer in Zimbabwe in 2014, at the age of 34.

Sources

Letter from Robin Malan [rmalan@iafrica.com]

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