John Kani inhabits the place where world theatre and South African politics intersect, and it’s a pretty interesting spot. In his 40-odd years as a theatre artist he has watched the issues of his own country taking their place on the world stage

The Polished Hoe , winner of the 2002 Scotiabank Giller Prize and of the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize: Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean) is being made into a play . The Polished Hoe unravels over the course of 24 hours but spans the lifetime of one woman and the collective experience of a society informed by slavery.

For the past 20 years, the two-time Pulitzer Award-winner, August Wilson has been telling the story of black America through an ongoing 10-play cycle, each play covering a decade of the 20th century.