Weighty lessons from South Africa’s history

Playwright John Kani sets his South African drama “Nothing but the Truth” in the year 2000, a decade after the repeal of apartheid and four years into a process of assessing human rights abuses committed during the bloodiest years of the nation’s racially discriminatory laws.

This investigation is overseen by the new government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission -- a name that, fortuitously, encodes the themes in Kani’s play, being given its West Coast premiere at the Mark Taper Forum. For while this is, on its surface, a family drama, it also can be read as the story of today’s South Africa, as that nation tries to redress the past without poisoning the future.

Kani, a creator with Athol Fugard of such improvisatory dramas as “Sizwe Bansi Is Dead” and “The Island,” introduced “Nothing but the Truth” in South Africa in 2002, and the play was presented again late last year at Lincoln Center in New York.

The action unfolds in Kani’s hometown of New Brighton, near the industrial city of Port Elizabeth. Low-rising cinderblock walls outline the humble but lovingly maintained home that 63-year-old Sipho Makhaya (Kani) shares with his daughter, Thando (Warona Seane), who’s in her 20s. Family photos and books occupy premium space in the typically tight confines of this black-township residence, designed by Sarah Roberts.

With his erect posture and no-nonsense attitude, Kani’s Sipho is imposing and, at times, imperious. Yet nervous energy hums behind his carefully composed facade, and overlapping events have him buzzing more than usual. After years of distinguished service at the local library, he is being considered for the post of head librarian. He hopes that, in an era of new opportunities, he’ll actually land the job he’s earned. Meanwhile, he is preparing for the funeral of a brother he hasn’t seen in 20 years. A persuasive speaker in the anti-apartheid movement, the brother had fled to safety in England. Sipho’s niece, Mandisa (Esmeralda Bihl), is bringing the remains home for burial.

Talk of the past resurrects pain, particularly that of a son killed years earlier when police opened fire at a funeral (a younger brother of Kani’s died under similar circumstances in 1985). Thando, meanwhile, is emboldened to ask questions about her mother, who abandoned the family about the time the brother left for England. Injustices well up inside of Sipho. He doesn’t want to name them, but the women press for details.

When finally spilled forth, the revelations bear an unfortunate resemblance to those in an overheated daytime soap opera. Kani nevertheless uses them to frame issues facing the new South Africa. When pushing for the truth, we must be prepared for the consequences, he suggests. What we learn may not reflect well on ourselves, our loved ones or our communities. But perhaps we should know it anyway.

Although the encrypting of such messages often feels contrived, the performances are always fresh and real. Seane’s Thando is an independent young woman who, nevertheless, bends her will to her father’s -- and does so freely and lovingly. In a sometimes mournful household, her warm, often impish smile keeps hope alive. Bihl’s Mandisa, meanwhile, is flamboyant and outspoken, her every gesture a declaration of self. These qualities serve the character well, although, as Mandisa learns, they must be employed with care and respect.

Humor bursts forth in refreshing little rain showers, and, under Janice Honeyman’s direction, love suffuses even the most mundane household activities.

Toward the end, the dialogue erupts into mini-speeches. “I might not have been detained,” Sipho declares, “I might not have been on Robben Island ... but I suffered too. The thousands that attended those funerals on Saturdays, that was me. The thousands that were tear-gassed, ... mauled by Alsatian dogs, that was me.” This style won’t be to everyone’s taste, yet some in the mostly invited audience at Sunday’s opening responded with sounds of assent.

Departing Taper artistic director Gordon Davidson lent unscripted drama when, before the performance, his voice choked with emotion as he introduced this first production in his final season of programming.

Recovering his composure, Davidson went on to say that the title of Kani’s play encapsulated the Taper’s mission.

Though the play that followed would prove to be over-earnest and preachy in the way that so many shows have been during Davidson’s 37-year tenure, that could be forgiven -- in Kani and in Davidson -- because of their heartfelt quests for honesty, knowledge and awareness.

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‘Nothing but the Truth’

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Where: Mark Taper Forum,

135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Also 2:30 p.m. Nov. 3. No evening performance Nov. 7.

Ends: Nov. 7

Price: $34 to $52

Contact: (213) 628-2772 or www.TaperAhmanson.com

Running Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes

John Kani...Sipho Makhaya

Warona Seane...Thando Makhaya

Esmeralda Bihl...Mandisa MacKay

Written by John Kani. Directed by Janice Honeyman. Set and costumes Sarah Roberts. Lights Mannie Manim. Production stage manager James T. McDermott.