“I write about the human condition, as a South African. I sometimes see...” — John Kani Quote

“I write about the human condition, as a South African. I sometimes see South Africa with the spectacles of the past and there will then be a political content in my writing.”

“Before 1994, many South Africans used theater as a voice of protest against the government. But with the end of apartheid, like the artists who watched the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe, theater had to find new voices and search for new issues.”

“We haven't got those dreams: 'I wish to become doctor or a lawyer.' Black people in South Africa have been barred in doing anything that would articulate their cause.”

“For me, character comes from a specific condition or situation. I cannot really define a character outside that situation.”

“I've made it my business to condition and train folks to understand that you'll never know what's going to come out of my mouth.”

“I remember a time when you were protesting on the street together with your professors, with your union, with your school organizations. Everybody was in the streets. Now, everybody is kept alone in his box, in this fragile condition, afraid of losing tenure.”