The Robben Island Shakespeare

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Shakespeare, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Robben Island Shakespeare by Matthew Hahn, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Matthew Hahn ISBN: 9781474283892
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: January 12, 2017
Imprint: Methuen Drama Language: English
Author: Matthew Hahn
ISBN: 9781474283892
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: January 12, 2017
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Language: English

During the Apartheid years in South Africa, a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare was smuggled around the prison on Robben Island. The book's significance resides in the fact that the book's owner, Sonny Venkatratham, passed it to a number of his fellow political prisoners in the single cells, including Nelson Mandela, asking them to mark their favourite passages with a signature and date. Informally known as "the Robben Island Bible", numerous prisoners selected the speeches that meant the most to them and their experience as political prisoners.

In 2008 and 2010, playwright and scholar Matthew Hahn conducted interviews with eight former political prisoners in South Africa. Offering a vivid and startling account of the experience of these political prisoners during Apartheid, this extraordinary verbatim play weaves Shakespeare's words together with first-hand accounts from these men. They offer their reflections on their time as Liberation activists and, twenty years later, on the costs, consequences and whether or not it was all worth it.

The play is published alongside a preface by Sonny Venkatrathnam and an introduction by South African actor, director , playwright and cultural activist John Kani.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

During the Apartheid years in South Africa, a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare was smuggled around the prison on Robben Island. The book's significance resides in the fact that the book's owner, Sonny Venkatratham, passed it to a number of his fellow political prisoners in the single cells, including Nelson Mandela, asking them to mark their favourite passages with a signature and date. Informally known as "the Robben Island Bible", numerous prisoners selected the speeches that meant the most to them and their experience as political prisoners.

In 2008 and 2010, playwright and scholar Matthew Hahn conducted interviews with eight former political prisoners in South Africa. Offering a vivid and startling account of the experience of these political prisoners during Apartheid, this extraordinary verbatim play weaves Shakespeare's words together with first-hand accounts from these men. They offer their reflections on their time as Liberation activists and, twenty years later, on the costs, consequences and whether or not it was all worth it.

The play is published alongside a preface by Sonny Venkatrathnam and an introduction by South African actor, director , playwright and cultural activist John Kani.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book What Now Skipper? by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Fashion and Orientalism by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book British Goats by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Family Dancing by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Essays on International Criminal Justice by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Princess of Glass by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Concise Garden Wildlife Guide by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book International Counterterrorism Bureaucracies in the United Nations and the European Union by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Interventions by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book The Essence of Truth by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Revolutionary Ireland, 1912-25 by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Highlands – Scotland’s Wild Heart by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Transnational Fascism in the Twentieth Century by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book The Adlard Coles Book of Radar by Matthew Hahn
Cover of the book Messerschmitt Bf 109 E–F series by Matthew Hahn
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy