John Matshikiza
Encyclopedia
John Matshikiza was a South Africa
n actor
, theatre director, poet
and journalist
.
John Matshikiza was born in Johannesburg
, South Africa to Todd Matshikiza
and Esme Matshikiza. Todd was a renowned jazz
pianist
, composer
and journalist. Due to apartheid, the Matshikiza family went into exile in London
in 1961
. John was only seven at the time he boarded the ship for London. Later the family moved to Lusaka
, Zambia
where John completed his schooling and took a degree in economics
and politics
. He returned to London to the Drama Centre London to train in drama
. While in the United Kingdom
, he worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company
and Glasgow
's Citizens Theatre company and also worked in television
and film
. He became active in the exiled African National Congress
. John also lived in the United States
, Netherlands
and various African countries including Senegal
, where he was director of the department of culture of the Gorée Institute
. While in exile John had two books published, South Where Her Feet Cool on Ice (1981) and Prophets in the Black Sky (1986).
When the African National Congress was unbanned in South Africa in 1991
, John returned to South Africa and directed plays at the Market and Windybrow theatres, wrote and directed documentaries and dramas for television and appeared in various films.
Among others, he was seen in Hijack Stories, Leon Schuster
's There's a Zulu On My Stoep
, Cry Freedom
and 1987's Mandela
, in which he played the role of Walter Sisulu
. One of John's last acting roles was the villain in the third series of the television series Hard Copy. John wrote for several South African and foreign publications including the Mail & Guardian
, where his With the Lid Off column ran from several years from the mid-Nineties which was gently critical of the government. In 2002
, John won the regional and national Vodacom
Journalist of the Year Award in the specialist category for his column, which appeared in a collection of his and his father Todd's works titled With the Lid Off: South African Insights from Home and Abroad, published in 2000.
In December 2007
, John was violently hijacked
and became more critical of the government's failure to curb the high crime rate. Due to the hijacking and malaria
which he contrated on one of his trips in Africa his health started to decline.
On the 15 September 2008, John suffered a heart attack
in Picobella restaurant in Melville
, Johannesburg
and died soon afterwards.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, theatre director, poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
.
John Matshikiza was born in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa to Todd Matshikiza
Todd Matshikiza
Todd Tozama Matshikiza was a South African jazz pianist, composer and journalist.-Overview:Matshikiza came from a musical family. He graduated from St Peter's College in Rosettenville, Johannesburg and went on to obtain a diploma in music and a teaching diploma. He then taught English and...
and Esme Matshikiza. Todd was a renowned jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and journalist. Due to apartheid, the Matshikiza family went into exile in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1961
1961 in South Africa
-March:* 12 March - The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions submits a memorandum to the United Nations General Assembly calling for economic sanctions against South Africa* 15 March - South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth-May:...
. John was only seven at the time he boarded the ship for London. Later the family moved to Lusaka
Lusaka
Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
where John completed his schooling and took a degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. He returned to London to the Drama Centre London to train in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. While in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, he worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
's Citizens Theatre company and also worked in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. He became active in the exiled African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
. John also lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and various African countries including Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, where he was director of the department of culture of the Gorée Institute
Goree Institute
The Goree Institute operates in peace building, development and the promotion of arts and culture in Africa.It was established on June 25, 1992, in the wake of the historic meeting in Dakar, July 1987, between the exile leadership of the African National Congress and a significant group of...
. While in exile John had two books published, South Where Her Feet Cool on Ice (1981) and Prophets in the Black Sky (1986).
When the African National Congress was unbanned in South Africa in 1991
1991 in South Africa
-January:* 9 January - Black children are admitted to schools previously reserved for Whites only.* 12 January - 45 mourners are killed during an attack on a funeral vigil for an African National Congress member...
, John returned to South Africa and directed plays at the Market and Windybrow theatres, wrote and directed documentaries and dramas for television and appeared in various films.
Among others, he was seen in Hijack Stories, Leon Schuster
Leon Schuster
Leon Ernest "Schuks" Schuster is a South African filmmaker, comedian, actor, presenter and singer.- Early life :Schuster was drawn to the filmmaking process at an early age...
's There's a Zulu On My Stoep
There's a Zulu On My Stoep
There's a Zulu On My Stoep is a 1993 South African comedy film by the comedy filmmaker Gray Hofmeyr starring Leon Schuster and John Matshikiza...
, Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. It was written from a screenplay by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods...
and 1987's Mandela
Mandela (1987 film)
Mandela is a 1987 HBO television film directed by Philip Saville. The film stars Danny Glover as Nelson Mandela and Alfre Woodard as his wife Winnie....
, in which he played the role of Walter Sisulu
Walter Sisulu
Walter Max Ulyate Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist and member of the African National Congress .-Family and Education:...
. One of John's last acting roles was the villain in the third series of the television series Hard Copy. John wrote for several South African and foreign publications including the Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
The Mail & Guardian is a South African weekly newspaper, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a strong focus on politics, government, the environment, civil society and business.- The Mail & Guardian newspaper :...
, where his With the Lid Off column ran from several years from the mid-Nineties which was gently critical of the government. In 2002
2002 in South Africa
-January:* 29 January – Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organisation, begins importing a cheap, generic version of patented AIDS drugs into South Africa in a direct defiance to South Africa's patent laws-March:...
, John won the regional and national Vodacom
Vodacom
Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008...
Journalist of the Year Award in the specialist category for his column, which appeared in a collection of his and his father Todd's works titled With the Lid Off: South African Insights from Home and Abroad, published in 2000.
In December 2007
2007 in South Africa
-January:* 17 January – South Africa is selected as the host of sub-region's Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre. Included in the sub-region are Angola, Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique and Namibiabut face-February:...
, John was violently hijacked
Carjacking
Carjacking is a form of hijacking, where the crime is of stealing a motor vehicle and so also armed assault when the vehicle is occupied. Historically, such as in the rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings during the 1960s, the general term hijacking was used for that type of vehicle abduction,...
and became more critical of the government's failure to curb the high crime rate. Due to the hijacking and malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
which he contrated on one of his trips in Africa his health started to decline.
On the 15 September 2008, John suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Picobella restaurant in Melville
Melville, Gauteng
Melville is a Bohemian suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It is the location of many restaurants and bars, which are mostly frequented by students from the nearby University of Johannesburg, located in Auckland Park. It is also one of the city's gay villages.The suburb was proclaimed on...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and died soon afterwards.