Gibson Mthuthuzeli Kente (23 July 1932 – 7 November 2004) was a South African playwright, composer, director, and producer based in Soweto.
Gibson Kente was born on 23 July 1932[citation needed] in Duncan Village, Eastern Cape[1] raised in Stutterheim by his mother.
[3] The Union Artists offered black performers in South Africa training, royalty contracts and fair payment.
In 1963, Kente produced his first play, Manana, The Jazz Prophet, which featured celebrated musicians Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu.
He trained famous South African artists and entertainers such as Brenda Fassie, Nomsa Nene,[1] and Mbongeni Ngema[6] in the garage of his home in Dube, Soweto.
The garage at his home served as rehearsal room, set construction workshop, training centre and storeroom for GK Productions.
[8] Associate Professor Emeritus Rolf Solberg of Norway wrote an account of the playwright's life and work in Bra Gib: Father of South Africa's Township Theatre.