About the work
King Kong is a South African musical with music by Todd Matshikiza, lyrics by Matshikiza and Pat Williams, and a book by Harry Bloom. It premiered on 2 February 1959 at the Great Hall of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, directed by Leon Gluckman.
Plot
The show dramatises the life of boxer Ezekiel Dhlamini, known as "King Kong": his rise to heavyweight champion, his descent into drink and gang violence, and his conviction for stabbing his girlfriend Joyce, for which he himself demanded the death penalty but received 14 years. In 1957 he drowned in the prison dam; suicide was suspected.
Cultural significance
With a mixed cast of Black and white performers — including Miriam Makeba and the Manhattan Brothers — King Kong became one of South Africa's first multiracially performed productions under apartheid; it toured for two years before around 200,000 spectators before transferring to London's West End in 1961 as the first South African stage production to do so.