Rise and fall (and revival) of SA’s King Kong show
New book aims to ‘set the record straight’ about heroes and true impetus behind smash-hit musical
KING KONG: Our knot of time and music Pat Williams Portobello Books At the age of 85, Pat Williams is one of the last survivors of King Kong, the African jazz opera that became a smash hit in 1959 and SA’s most popular musical of all time. As a young journalist on the Rand Daily Mail, she had the good fortune to contribute to the lyrics to the production. Her book is a collection of anecdotes, personal memories and quotes from other sources. It is released to coincide with the show’s restaging, directed by Jonathan Munby and produced by Eric Abraham, founder of the Athol Fugard Theatre. The book was written on Abraham’s suggestion to "set the record straight" as the real heroes of the musical have not been sufficiently recognised. King Kong All African Jazz Opera was based on the story of Ezekiel Dhlamini (also known as King Kong), the South African black heavyweight champion who was convicted for the jealous murder of his mistress and drowned himself in a prison dam in April 1957. ...
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