Artscape Theatre to Stage John Kani's MISSING... in May

Artscape, in collaboration with the Baxter Theatre Centre and JK Productions, is gearing up to present the much-anticipated production of John Kani's MISSING... in the Artscape Theatre.

MISSING... follows the life of Robert Khalipa (played by Kani) who has been living in exile in Stockholm, Sweden, for over 30 years with his wife, Anna Olson (Susan Danford) and their daughter Ayanda (Buhle Ngaba). Anna has inherited her father's large electronic and communications company and Ayanda is a young doctor working in a hospital in Stockholm. Something that Robert has been waiting for all his life in exile has finally happened: Mandela has been released. South Africa is on the road to democracy. Going home has become a reality. Instead of being a celebration, this new situation threatens to break the Khalipha family apart. To add insult to injury, Robert is not called home by the ANC to be part of the negotiations and the country's future. Robert's assistant in the ANC office in Stockholm , a young comrade named Peter Tshabalala (played by Apollo Ntshoko), plays an important role in the isolation of Robert by the organisation. What follows is a plot full of intrigue, lies, backstabbing, conspiracy and political in-fighting.

This production of MISSING... form part of a celebration of Kani's work at the Artscape and runs concurrently with NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, which is being produced as a set work production in the same venue. Kani's appearance in MISSING... marks the acting debut of this legendary playwright, actor and director at the Artscape, while NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH serves as his directing debut at that theatre complex. Kani was recently honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2015 Fleur Du Cap Theatre Awards.

MISSING... has been performed to great acclaim in Johannesburg and Pretoria and has just returned to Cape Town following its success at the Iberoamerican Festival in Bogota, Columbia. The play premiered at the Baxter Theatre Centre in 2014 and is directed by Janice Honeyman.

Performances of MISSING take place from 9 - 14 May at 19:30. Tickets, ranging from R40 - R80 per person, can be booked at Computicket, with details for block bookings available from Sedrico Husselman on 021 410 9986.