South African stage legend John Kani shuffled between rows of red chairs in the 450-seat theatre named after him, searching for one in particular.

“I think it’s this one,” he exclaimed, pointing at 15E near the stairs leading to the stage. “This used to be Nelson Mandela’s seat!”

The actor laughed as he recalled how South Africa’s first democratically elected president once interrupted the opening moments of one of his plays.

“He said, ‘Excuse me, could you start over? My hearing aid is giving me problems,'” Kani said in a perfect imitation of Mandela’s unmistakable accent.

At 82 years old and after a six-decade career as a performer and playwright, the South African star had several stories to recount in a recent interview with AFP.

Roles in blockbusters like “Black Panther” (2018) a

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