30 / 10 / 8
Today, both David & I are staying around the backpackers. He is catching up on the transcription of our first interview. I am compiling my notes, writing emails, catching up on phone calls, this blog and planning for the next couple of weeks.
I spoke with Theo Cholo & Dr. Saths Cooper who have agreed to meet next week in Johannesburg to be interviewed. I am hunting for Michael Dingake’s phone number along with a couple of others.
Our plan will be to return as it stands today is to return to Cape Town around the 7th of November and spend the next several days compiling our notes, returning to Robben Island, engaging with some Cape Town actors and begin to develop the work in progress for the Market Theatre.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
'A Simple Freedom'
30 / 10 / 8
We met up with Masie and his wife Percy and her brother Eric last night to go to the book signing of Ahmed Kathrada’s new book called, 'A Simple Freedom'.
We all piled into his car and set off from Soweto to the swanky Hyde Park Shopping Centre. What a world of difference between these two places.
Masie navigated us brilliantly and we arrived hot and ruffled, but made our way to the Exclusive Book store for the launch.
We arrived slightly late and halfway through Mr. Kathrada’s speech. His book is full of quotes that he chose whilst in prison as meaning something to him (interestingly similar to our quest, but nary a Shakespearian quote in A Simple Freedom (as he explained to us in his house last week, he could fill another book with JUST quotes from Shakespeare, ‘There is just too much!’ he said)).
Masie was as excited as a schoolgirl winning the ‘X-Factor’ as he was surrounded by politicos and bigwigs from the South African ANC. He got a copy of the book and nervously stood in line to get it signed by Mr. Kathrada. I introduced his as the ‘young man who persisted in calling you for an interview’ and he warmly replied that it was ‘good to finally meet you.’ Which, needless to say, made Masie squeal once again in delight.
He was also thrilled to meet (and I must say I too let out a tiny squeal) Ms. Barbara Hogan, the new Minister of Health under the new president, Kgalema Motlanthe. In her short time on the job, she has quickly reversed course from the previous minister’s path and regained the support doctors and other experts in the fight against HIV / Aids. She also happens to be Mr. Kathrada partner.
We celebrated our excellent evening at Wandie’s Restaurant, famous and copied thorughout Soweto as an outstanding place for dinner (especially for the hungry vegetarians in the crowd). It is an ‘all you can eat’ buffet of African dinner. Which meant that I ate my weight in Chacalaka, my favourite South African dish. Along with pap, other salads, potatoes, and dessert. Ah, satisfying…….
We met up with Masie and his wife Percy and her brother Eric last night to go to the book signing of Ahmed Kathrada’s new book called, 'A Simple Freedom'.
We all piled into his car and set off from Soweto to the swanky Hyde Park Shopping Centre. What a world of difference between these two places.
Masie navigated us brilliantly and we arrived hot and ruffled, but made our way to the Exclusive Book store for the launch.
We arrived slightly late and halfway through Mr. Kathrada’s speech. His book is full of quotes that he chose whilst in prison as meaning something to him (interestingly similar to our quest, but nary a Shakespearian quote in A Simple Freedom (as he explained to us in his house last week, he could fill another book with JUST quotes from Shakespeare, ‘There is just too much!’ he said)).
Masie was as excited as a schoolgirl winning the ‘X-Factor’ as he was surrounded by politicos and bigwigs from the South African ANC. He got a copy of the book and nervously stood in line to get it signed by Mr. Kathrada. I introduced his as the ‘young man who persisted in calling you for an interview’ and he warmly replied that it was ‘good to finally meet you.’ Which, needless to say, made Masie squeal once again in delight.
He was also thrilled to meet (and I must say I too let out a tiny squeal) Ms. Barbara Hogan, the new Minister of Health under the new president, Kgalema Motlanthe. In her short time on the job, she has quickly reversed course from the previous minister’s path and regained the support doctors and other experts in the fight against HIV / Aids. She also happens to be Mr. Kathrada partner.
We celebrated our excellent evening at Wandie’s Restaurant, famous and copied thorughout Soweto as an outstanding place for dinner (especially for the hungry vegetarians in the crowd). It is an ‘all you can eat’ buffet of African dinner. Which meant that I ate my weight in Chacalaka, my favourite South African dish. Along with pap, other salads, potatoes, and dessert. Ah, satisfying…….
Market Laboratory Theatre
30 / 10 / 8
Yesterday morning, we met with the Market Laboratory Theatre in Johannesburg and they agreed to host a presentation / performance on the 23rd of November. This is good news, especially I think for me, as I look forward to developing a piece of rough theatre for this presentation. It will certainly be a work in progress, but it will be nice to begin to compose some work for the stage.
I think that it will be two fold: a presentation on our findings and how they will shape the play and then a performance of selected verbatim interviews and chosen texts. Nothing fancy and quite rough, but it is my hope that the Shakespearian text and the stories of the men will be powerful enough to ‘mask’ any roughness.
After meeting with them, we had a whirlwind tour of central Jo’burg thanks to a very friendly Sowetian. We were searching for an Mobile phone shop as we had lost our first SIM card in the post and were needing to replace it or ‘swap’ it in South African lingo. So, we asked at the first shop in Newtown, but had no luck. Except of the fact that Emanuel was exceeding kind and offered to take us to the nearest Vodacom shop. Nearest….. like ‘nearest’ in ‘merica terms, no London terms. In other words, a good half hour walk from where we were. So, off we set, quickly cutting through the teeming streets of Jo’burg on our hunt for the shop. We had several false sightings which raised hopes, a couple of dead-ends but finally arrived at our destination at Carton Centre’s Vodacom shop. Went in, asked for a ‘SIM Swap,’ they said ‘yes’ they can do that but, ‘unfortunately’ their computers were down. FOILED!!
So back we went towards Park Train Station as that is where I knew there was another shop. Through the heaving markets, glancing back at David to make sure he was still there, jumping and jiving and getting thoroughly turned around. Or, at least David & I were, Emanuel knew these streets like he knew ‘the back of his hands.’
Past the Johannesburg Supreme Court – I asked him who the imposing statue was in front of it which served a shade for pedestrians & a landing spot for pigeons. He laughed and had no idea who this old bearded white man was.
We passed what I thought was another Vodacom shop so I asked David & Emanuel to stop just to see if they could do a ‘SIM Swap.’ Nope, THEY couldn’t, but if you just bought a new SIM card, you could do it over the phone. No worries. Though it would cost me ten rand. A bargin, as the other place, if their system had been running would have charged me sixty rand. So, I purchased my third SIM card of our short trip, but having little faith that I really COULD do it on my own and wanting to try my luck one last time. So,
To the train station & third Vodacom shop of the day only to find out that we ‘should have been there in the early morning as they had run out of swaps (whatever that meant….).’
After quickly cursing the gods for our rotten fate, we settled down, licked our wounds and had a Coke at the ‘Chicken Shack’ fast food joint. I dutifully followed the instructions on my new SIM card package, dialled ‘173’ and spoke to an operator who said, ‘yes’ it is possible, just give me your other phone number that you want to use. So, I said, ‘07661507986.’
She asked me to repeat it so I said, ‘07661507986.’
‘Erm,’ she said, ‘that has 11 numbers.’
‘Yes, it does’ I replied.
‘How can it have 11 numbers?’ she asked.
After scrunching up my brow, wondering what in the world she meant, I found out that phone numbers here only have 10 digits and I must have written the lost number down wrong (and spent £30 on printing fancy ‘Robben Island Bible’ business cards with said number on it).
So, once again, we cursed the gods at our cruel cruel fate and finished our Coke.
Yesterday morning, we met with the Market Laboratory Theatre in Johannesburg and they agreed to host a presentation / performance on the 23rd of November. This is good news, especially I think for me, as I look forward to developing a piece of rough theatre for this presentation. It will certainly be a work in progress, but it will be nice to begin to compose some work for the stage.
I think that it will be two fold: a presentation on our findings and how they will shape the play and then a performance of selected verbatim interviews and chosen texts. Nothing fancy and quite rough, but it is my hope that the Shakespearian text and the stories of the men will be powerful enough to ‘mask’ any roughness.
After meeting with them, we had a whirlwind tour of central Jo’burg thanks to a very friendly Sowetian. We were searching for an Mobile phone shop as we had lost our first SIM card in the post and were needing to replace it or ‘swap’ it in South African lingo. So, we asked at the first shop in Newtown, but had no luck. Except of the fact that Emanuel was exceeding kind and offered to take us to the nearest Vodacom shop. Nearest….. like ‘nearest’ in ‘merica terms, no London terms. In other words, a good half hour walk from where we were. So, off we set, quickly cutting through the teeming streets of Jo’burg on our hunt for the shop. We had several false sightings which raised hopes, a couple of dead-ends but finally arrived at our destination at Carton Centre’s Vodacom shop. Went in, asked for a ‘SIM Swap,’ they said ‘yes’ they can do that but, ‘unfortunately’ their computers were down. FOILED!!
So back we went towards Park Train Station as that is where I knew there was another shop. Through the heaving markets, glancing back at David to make sure he was still there, jumping and jiving and getting thoroughly turned around. Or, at least David & I were, Emanuel knew these streets like he knew ‘the back of his hands.’
Past the Johannesburg Supreme Court – I asked him who the imposing statue was in front of it which served a shade for pedestrians & a landing spot for pigeons. He laughed and had no idea who this old bearded white man was.
We passed what I thought was another Vodacom shop so I asked David & Emanuel to stop just to see if they could do a ‘SIM Swap.’ Nope, THEY couldn’t, but if you just bought a new SIM card, you could do it over the phone. No worries. Though it would cost me ten rand. A bargin, as the other place, if their system had been running would have charged me sixty rand. So, I purchased my third SIM card of our short trip, but having little faith that I really COULD do it on my own and wanting to try my luck one last time. So,
To the train station & third Vodacom shop of the day only to find out that we ‘should have been there in the early morning as they had run out of swaps (whatever that meant….).’
After quickly cursing the gods for our rotten fate, we settled down, licked our wounds and had a Coke at the ‘Chicken Shack’ fast food joint. I dutifully followed the instructions on my new SIM card package, dialled ‘173’ and spoke to an operator who said, ‘yes’ it is possible, just give me your other phone number that you want to use. So, I said, ‘07661507986.’
She asked me to repeat it so I said, ‘07661507986.’
‘Erm,’ she said, ‘that has 11 numbers.’
‘Yes, it does’ I replied.
‘How can it have 11 numbers?’ she asked.
After scrunching up my brow, wondering what in the world she meant, I found out that phone numbers here only have 10 digits and I must have written the lost number down wrong (and spent £30 on printing fancy ‘Robben Island Bible’ business cards with said number on it).
So, once again, we cursed the gods at our cruel cruel fate and finished our Coke.
So close……..so close……
28 / 10 / 8
So close……..so close……
A day I will never forget.
So close……. So close…….
Just down the hallway and to the right. Just down the hallway and to the right.
Just down the hallway and to the right. Just down the hallway and to the right.
And here I was sitting next to the new South African president and I didn’t have anything to say.
But let me begin from the begin… I had arranged to meet the director of the Mandela Centre for Memory within the Mandela foundation. Having spoken on the phone with him last week, he had generously offered the centre’s resources to see if they had any archive material that might support our work.
We made our way up to the Centre today via two mini busses. Really quite easy. No need for a car in this town with its mini bus system second to none. We were picked up just outside our backpackers in Soweto and one hour later, deposited just outside of the Foundation’s door. Not bad for just under two quid for two people.
We were early, so we waited in the waiting room. There was a bit of a buzz around the office, the phone was ringing off the hook. Many many many people, it seems, have business to do with the foundation.
A few minutes after the minibus dropped us off and we entered the foundation, the waiting room is filling up with people with little earphones in their ears and armed men and gifts earmarked for ‘Madiba & Grace’ – what, oh what, does this mean?
Then a solitary man in sun glasses walks through the door mobile phone in one hand and sits on the couch next to David & myself. Silence. Silence.
I hear from one of the foundation employees, ‘Madiba will be with you in just a moment.’
Oh, my…… Madiba is just down the hallway & to the right of David, the President of South Africa and me. How nice……
He went to visit Madiba and we stayed on the couch. So close…… So close……..
After that initial thrill (and realisation that we were in places we never thought that we would be), we met with Verne Harris and Sahm Venter, both from the Centre for Memory. We briefed them on the project, David told them about his mother’s love of food & cooking and they offered to do a search of Mandela’s archival material to see if he mentions anything about Shakespeare or literature in his writing & speeches.
Twenty minutes later, both come back with a half of dozen samples where Mandela mentions Shakespeare – some from letters, one from ‘Long Walk To Freedom’ and several from his speeches. Most references are to Julius Caesar, it seems.
After thanking them for their time and with these precious papers firmly under our arms, we leave the building slowly with just one more glance down the hallway and to the right…. But sadly, nothing but an empty space. Ah well…….. so close……
Later that afternoon, we met up with Masie at the Train Station and tell him our fantastic story. He smiles widely (and I think jealously). We have lunch and return on the Metro to our backpackers where we begin to plan out our next 10 days or so. We learned from Verne that Billy Nair’s funeral will be on Thursday and that Kathy’s book release is on Wednesday. We make plans to meet in Hyde Park at the Exclusive Bookstore for the signing. I am a bit disappointed as I had plans to take Masie and his new wife to my favourite restaurant in Soweto, Wandies, but that will just have to wait.
We are in a bit of a holding pattern until we see which men will be attending the funeral and make our schedule around that. But we still hope to be back in Cape Town with the majority of our interviews finished in about 10 days.
So close……..so close……
A day I will never forget.
So close……. So close…….
Just down the hallway and to the right. Just down the hallway and to the right.
Just down the hallway and to the right. Just down the hallway and to the right.
And here I was sitting next to the new South African president and I didn’t have anything to say.
But let me begin from the begin… I had arranged to meet the director of the Mandela Centre for Memory within the Mandela foundation. Having spoken on the phone with him last week, he had generously offered the centre’s resources to see if they had any archive material that might support our work.
We made our way up to the Centre today via two mini busses. Really quite easy. No need for a car in this town with its mini bus system second to none. We were picked up just outside our backpackers in Soweto and one hour later, deposited just outside of the Foundation’s door. Not bad for just under two quid for two people.
We were early, so we waited in the waiting room. There was a bit of a buzz around the office, the phone was ringing off the hook. Many many many people, it seems, have business to do with the foundation.
A few minutes after the minibus dropped us off and we entered the foundation, the waiting room is filling up with people with little earphones in their ears and armed men and gifts earmarked for ‘Madiba & Grace’ – what, oh what, does this mean?
Then a solitary man in sun glasses walks through the door mobile phone in one hand and sits on the couch next to David & myself. Silence. Silence.
I hear from one of the foundation employees, ‘Madiba will be with you in just a moment.’
Oh, my…… Madiba is just down the hallway & to the right of David, the President of South Africa and me. How nice……
He went to visit Madiba and we stayed on the couch. So close…… So close……..
After that initial thrill (and realisation that we were in places we never thought that we would be), we met with Verne Harris and Sahm Venter, both from the Centre for Memory. We briefed them on the project, David told them about his mother’s love of food & cooking and they offered to do a search of Mandela’s archival material to see if he mentions anything about Shakespeare or literature in his writing & speeches.
Twenty minutes later, both come back with a half of dozen samples where Mandela mentions Shakespeare – some from letters, one from ‘Long Walk To Freedom’ and several from his speeches. Most references are to Julius Caesar, it seems.
After thanking them for their time and with these precious papers firmly under our arms, we leave the building slowly with just one more glance down the hallway and to the right…. But sadly, nothing but an empty space. Ah well…….. so close……
Later that afternoon, we met up with Masie at the Train Station and tell him our fantastic story. He smiles widely (and I think jealously). We have lunch and return on the Metro to our backpackers where we begin to plan out our next 10 days or so. We learned from Verne that Billy Nair’s funeral will be on Thursday and that Kathy’s book release is on Wednesday. We make plans to meet in Hyde Park at the Exclusive Bookstore for the signing. I am a bit disappointed as I had plans to take Masie and his new wife to my favourite restaurant in Soweto, Wandies, but that will just have to wait.
We are in a bit of a holding pattern until we see which men will be attending the funeral and make our schedule around that. But we still hope to be back in Cape Town with the majority of our interviews finished in about 10 days.
Johannesburg!!!
27 / 10 / 8
On to Johannesburg…..
David & I took the overnight 26 hour train from Cape Town to Jo’burg on Friday and arrived on Saturday afternoon where we were belatedly picked up by a driver to take us to Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers in Orlando West. It is so good to finally stay at a backpackers in Soweto. It was needed. Other places that I have stayed in Jo burg mean that you are locked up behind cement blocks & barbed wire and you are stuck unless you want to go to different areas around the town..
Now, there are the blocks & wire here as well, I guess, but at least we can get out & walk around and explore the place. It doesn’t feel as isolated as the other places, maybe that is a better way of putting it. Plus it is much closer to my friend Masie’s home where yesterday we celebrated his wedding. It was the second day of the celebrations, the first day taking place in his wife’s village and Sunday at his home. It was good to see it again and to meet his family and hers as well.
We arrived and ate, had a beer, then ate, had another beer, chatting with family, friends & neighbours who were invited or otherwise – many were attracted by the excellent food and ‘Castle-Lite’ (I cant believe that I am drinking Castle Lite……) beer and were none of the above. But all were made to feel welcome and to celebrate the wedding.
It was good to see Masie again. I hadn’t seen his since my last trip to South Africa in 2005. He looks a bit older, but still has a magnetic smile and a tireless work ethic.
We will meet up later today to catch up on the project. This will be the first time that we have spoken face to face in almost 3 years of working on it. He has done so much leg work for it and knows so much about the men and their latest developments, that it is absolutely necessary to talk today. It will be fun to compare notes about it and start to work as a team. It is my hope to steal him away for a few hours or days to help with the interviews as I know that he would be excellent. Plus, he holds the greatest respect for the men with whom we want to speak.
At the most basic level, we need to compare notes on who we need to interview. There is one gentleman, Theo Cholo, who lives in Pretoria who is next on my list. There is also Michael Dingake, who lives in Botswana, who is also someone with whom we need to speak. Then it is down to Durban & Port Elizabeth before heading back to CT. Masie seems to have a good grasp on where in the world these men are, so today’s meeting with him is essential.
On a sad note, we found out late last week that Comrade Billy Nair passed away. He was an Indian trade unionist who was imprisoned on Robben Island for his role in Umkhonto We Sizwe. Nair was born in 1930 and studied bookkeeping. He became politically active during the 1952 Defiance Campaign and afterwards was elected to the provincial executive committee of the Natal Indian Congress. He became a trade union organiser, serving as secretary of several Natal unions. He was a member of the national executive committee of the South African Congress of Trade Unions and SACTU's regional secretary for Natal. He was one of the 156 accused in the Treason Trial and remained a defendant until late 1958. He was also imprisoned during the 1960 emergency. Detained in 1963 under the 90-day detention law, he was accused of sabotage and of being a Natal leader of Umkhonto. He was convicted in 1964 and sentenced to twenty years in prison. After his release he once again became active in community issues, particularly in the United Democratic Front.
After the 1994 elections Nair became a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly.
From the ‘bible,’ he had chosen The Tempest:
Act 1, Scene 2 Lines 331-336:
Caliban: ‘I must eat my dinner. This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which though tak’st from me. When thou cam’st first,
Thou strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me
Watwr with berries in’t, and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night; and then I lov’d thee,’
I feel a sense of urgency along with a sense of helplessness when I think about these men and wanting to speak with them about their experiences in the liberation movement. This sense of urgency is also felt by the many with whom we have spoken about this project. Although a lot has been written about these men, there is so much more to discover and for us to emulate. ‘It is in our hands,’ but I am not sure if I am ready for that responsibility that has been so ably handled in their hands.
Tomorrow, we are meeting with Verne Harris of the Mandela Centre for Memory. He has agreed to look through their archives of his writing to see if that could contribute in any way to our project. I spoke to him on our second day in Cape Town and arranged to meet him whilst we were in Johannesburg.
We also should be able to solidify the time & date of the presentation / performance at the Market Laboratory Theatre in late November, either through a phone call or to meet up in person. But the priority is on meeting with Mr. Harris.
Having attempted to work on the internet today at a Café, I know see that we were quite spoiled in Cape Town with our wireless connection. I disappointedly showed my Achilles heel there, as my wife will know, about my frustration with computers. Needless to say, I will not be making any non-work related emails / internet forays in the near future.
On to Johannesburg…..
David & I took the overnight 26 hour train from Cape Town to Jo’burg on Friday and arrived on Saturday afternoon where we were belatedly picked up by a driver to take us to Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers in Orlando West. It is so good to finally stay at a backpackers in Soweto. It was needed. Other places that I have stayed in Jo burg mean that you are locked up behind cement blocks & barbed wire and you are stuck unless you want to go to different areas around the town..
Now, there are the blocks & wire here as well, I guess, but at least we can get out & walk around and explore the place. It doesn’t feel as isolated as the other places, maybe that is a better way of putting it. Plus it is much closer to my friend Masie’s home where yesterday we celebrated his wedding. It was the second day of the celebrations, the first day taking place in his wife’s village and Sunday at his home. It was good to see it again and to meet his family and hers as well.
We arrived and ate, had a beer, then ate, had another beer, chatting with family, friends & neighbours who were invited or otherwise – many were attracted by the excellent food and ‘Castle-Lite’ (I cant believe that I am drinking Castle Lite……) beer and were none of the above. But all were made to feel welcome and to celebrate the wedding.
It was good to see Masie again. I hadn’t seen his since my last trip to South Africa in 2005. He looks a bit older, but still has a magnetic smile and a tireless work ethic.
We will meet up later today to catch up on the project. This will be the first time that we have spoken face to face in almost 3 years of working on it. He has done so much leg work for it and knows so much about the men and their latest developments, that it is absolutely necessary to talk today. It will be fun to compare notes about it and start to work as a team. It is my hope to steal him away for a few hours or days to help with the interviews as I know that he would be excellent. Plus, he holds the greatest respect for the men with whom we want to speak.
At the most basic level, we need to compare notes on who we need to interview. There is one gentleman, Theo Cholo, who lives in Pretoria who is next on my list. There is also Michael Dingake, who lives in Botswana, who is also someone with whom we need to speak. Then it is down to Durban & Port Elizabeth before heading back to CT. Masie seems to have a good grasp on where in the world these men are, so today’s meeting with him is essential.
On a sad note, we found out late last week that Comrade Billy Nair passed away. He was an Indian trade unionist who was imprisoned on Robben Island for his role in Umkhonto We Sizwe. Nair was born in 1930 and studied bookkeeping. He became politically active during the 1952 Defiance Campaign and afterwards was elected to the provincial executive committee of the Natal Indian Congress. He became a trade union organiser, serving as secretary of several Natal unions. He was a member of the national executive committee of the South African Congress of Trade Unions and SACTU's regional secretary for Natal. He was one of the 156 accused in the Treason Trial and remained a defendant until late 1958. He was also imprisoned during the 1960 emergency. Detained in 1963 under the 90-day detention law, he was accused of sabotage and of being a Natal leader of Umkhonto. He was convicted in 1964 and sentenced to twenty years in prison. After his release he once again became active in community issues, particularly in the United Democratic Front.
After the 1994 elections Nair became a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly.
From the ‘bible,’ he had chosen The Tempest:
Act 1, Scene 2 Lines 331-336:
Caliban: ‘I must eat my dinner. This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which though tak’st from me. When thou cam’st first,
Thou strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me
Watwr with berries in’t, and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night; and then I lov’d thee,’
I feel a sense of urgency along with a sense of helplessness when I think about these men and wanting to speak with them about their experiences in the liberation movement. This sense of urgency is also felt by the many with whom we have spoken about this project. Although a lot has been written about these men, there is so much more to discover and for us to emulate. ‘It is in our hands,’ but I am not sure if I am ready for that responsibility that has been so ably handled in their hands.
Tomorrow, we are meeting with Verne Harris of the Mandela Centre for Memory. He has agreed to look through their archives of his writing to see if that could contribute in any way to our project. I spoke to him on our second day in Cape Town and arranged to meet him whilst we were in Johannesburg.
We also should be able to solidify the time & date of the presentation / performance at the Market Laboratory Theatre in late November, either through a phone call or to meet up in person. But the priority is on meeting with Mr. Harris.
Having attempted to work on the internet today at a Café, I know see that we were quite spoiled in Cape Town with our wireless connection. I disappointedly showed my Achilles heel there, as my wife will know, about my frustration with computers. Needless to say, I will not be making any non-work related emails / internet forays in the near future.
Monday, 27 October 2008
Johannesburg!!!
27 / 10 / 8
On to Johannesburg…..
David & I took the overnight 26 hour train from Cape Town to Jo’burg on Friday and arrived on Saturday afternoon where we were belatedly picked up by a driver to take us to Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers in Orlando West. It is so good to finally stay at a backpackers in Soweto. It was needed. Other places that I have stayed in Jo burg mean that you are locked up behind cement blocks & barbed wire and you are stuck unless you want to go to different areas around the town..
Now, there are the blocks & wire here as well, I guess, but at least we can get out & walk around and explore the place. It doesn’t feel as isolated as the other places, maybe that is a better way of putting it. Plus it is much closer to my friend Masie’s home where yesterday we celebrated his wedding. It was the second day of the celebrations, the first day taking place in his wife’s village and Sunday at his home. It was good to see it again and to meet his family and hers as well.
We arrived and ate, had a beer, then ate, had another beer, chatting with family, friends & neighbours who were invited or otherwise – many were attracted by the excellent food and ‘Castle-Lite’ (I cant believe that I am drinking Castle Lite……) beer and were none of the above. But all were made to feel welcome and to celebrate the wedding.
It was good to see Masie again. I hadn’t seen his since my last trip to South Africa in 2005. He looks a bit older, but still has a magnetic smile and a tireless work ethic.
We will meet up later today to catch up on the project. This will be the first time that we have spoken face to face in almost 3 years of working on it. He has done so much leg work for it and knows so much about the men and their latest developments, that it is absolutely necessary to talk today. It will be fun to compare notes about it and start to work as a team. It is my hope to steal him away for a few hours or days to help with the interviews as I know that he would be excellent. Plus, he holds the greatest respect for the men with whom we want to speak.
At the most basic level, we need to compare notes on who we need to interview. There is one gentleman, Theo Cholo, who lives in Pretoria who is next on my list. There is also Michael Dingake, who lives in Botswana, who is also someone with whom we need to speak. Then it is down to Durban & Port Elizabeth before heading back to CT. Masie seems to have a good grasp on where in the world these men are, so today’s meeting with him is essential.
On a sad note, we found out late last week that Comrade Billy Nair passed away. He was an Indian trade unionist who was imprisoned on Robben Island for his role in Umkhonto We Sizwe. Nair was born in 1930 and studied bookkeeping. He became politically active during the 1952 Defiance Campaign and afterwards was elected to the provincial executive committee of the Natal Indian Congress. He became a trade union organiser, serving as secretary of several Natal unions. He was a member of the national executive committee of the South African Congress of Trade Unions and SACTU's regional secretary for Natal. He was one of the 156 accused in the Treason Trial and remained a defendant until late 1958. He was also imprisoned during the 1960 emergency. Detained in 1963 under the 90-day detention law, he was accused of sabotage and of being a Natal leader of Umkhonto. He was convicted in 1964 and sentenced to twenty years in prison. After his release he once again became active in community issues, particularly in the United Democratic Front.
After the 1994 elections Nair became a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly.
From the ‘bible,’ he had chosen The Tempest:
Act 1, Scene 2 Lines 331-336:
Caliban: ‘I must eat my dinner. This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which though tak’st from me. When thou cam’st first,
Thou strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me
Watwr with berries in’t, and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night; and then I lov’d thee,’
I feel a sense of urgency along with a sense of helplessness when I think about these men and wanting to speak with them about their experiences in the liberation movement. This sense of urgency is also felt by the many with whom we have spoken about this project. Although a lot has been written about these men, there is so much more to discover and for us to emulate. ‘It is in our hands,’ but I am not sure if I am ready for that responsibility that has been so ably handled in their hands.
Tomorrow, we are meeting with Verne Harris of the Mandela Centre for Memory. He has agreed to look through their archives of his writing to see if that could contribute in any way to our project. I spoke to him on our second day in Cape Town and arranged to meet him whilst we were in Johannesburg.
We also should be able to solidify the time & date of the presentation / performance at the Market Laboratory Theatre in late November, either through a phone call or to meet up in person. But the priority is on meeting with Mr. Harris.
Having attempted to work on the internet today at a Café, I know see that we were quite spoiled in Cape Town with our wireless connection. I disappointedly showed my Achilles heel there, as my wife will know, about my frustration with computers. Needless to say, I will not be making any non-work related emails / internet forays in the near future.
On to Johannesburg…..
David & I took the overnight 26 hour train from Cape Town to Jo’burg on Friday and arrived on Saturday afternoon where we were belatedly picked up by a driver to take us to Lebo’s Soweto Backpackers in Orlando West. It is so good to finally stay at a backpackers in Soweto. It was needed. Other places that I have stayed in Jo burg mean that you are locked up behind cement blocks & barbed wire and you are stuck unless you want to go to different areas around the town..
Now, there are the blocks & wire here as well, I guess, but at least we can get out & walk around and explore the place. It doesn’t feel as isolated as the other places, maybe that is a better way of putting it. Plus it is much closer to my friend Masie’s home where yesterday we celebrated his wedding. It was the second day of the celebrations, the first day taking place in his wife’s village and Sunday at his home. It was good to see it again and to meet his family and hers as well.
We arrived and ate, had a beer, then ate, had another beer, chatting with family, friends & neighbours who were invited or otherwise – many were attracted by the excellent food and ‘Castle-Lite’ (I cant believe that I am drinking Castle Lite……) beer and were none of the above. But all were made to feel welcome and to celebrate the wedding.
It was good to see Masie again. I hadn’t seen his since my last trip to South Africa in 2005. He looks a bit older, but still has a magnetic smile and a tireless work ethic.
We will meet up later today to catch up on the project. This will be the first time that we have spoken face to face in almost 3 years of working on it. He has done so much leg work for it and knows so much about the men and their latest developments, that it is absolutely necessary to talk today. It will be fun to compare notes about it and start to work as a team. It is my hope to steal him away for a few hours or days to help with the interviews as I know that he would be excellent. Plus, he holds the greatest respect for the men with whom we want to speak.
At the most basic level, we need to compare notes on who we need to interview. There is one gentleman, Theo Cholo, who lives in Pretoria who is next on my list. There is also Michael Dingake, who lives in Botswana, who is also someone with whom we need to speak. Then it is down to Durban & Port Elizabeth before heading back to CT. Masie seems to have a good grasp on where in the world these men are, so today’s meeting with him is essential.
On a sad note, we found out late last week that Comrade Billy Nair passed away. He was an Indian trade unionist who was imprisoned on Robben Island for his role in Umkhonto We Sizwe. Nair was born in 1930 and studied bookkeeping. He became politically active during the 1952 Defiance Campaign and afterwards was elected to the provincial executive committee of the Natal Indian Congress. He became a trade union organiser, serving as secretary of several Natal unions. He was a member of the national executive committee of the South African Congress of Trade Unions and SACTU's regional secretary for Natal. He was one of the 156 accused in the Treason Trial and remained a defendant until late 1958. He was also imprisoned during the 1960 emergency. Detained in 1963 under the 90-day detention law, he was accused of sabotage and of being a Natal leader of Umkhonto. He was convicted in 1964 and sentenced to twenty years in prison. After his release he once again became active in community issues, particularly in the United Democratic Front.
After the 1994 elections Nair became a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly.
From the ‘bible,’ he had chosen The Tempest:
Act 1, Scene 2 Lines 331-336:
Caliban: ‘I must eat my dinner. This Island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which though tak’st from me. When thou cam’st first,
Thou strok’st me and made much of me, wouldst give me
Watwr with berries in’t, and teach me how
To name the bigger light, and how the less,
That burn by day and night; and then I lov’d thee,’
I feel a sense of urgency along with a sense of helplessness when I think about these men and wanting to speak with them about their experiences in the liberation movement. This sense of urgency is also felt by the many with whom we have spoken about this project. Although a lot has been written about these men, there is so much more to discover and for us to emulate. ‘It is in our hands,’ but I am not sure if I am ready for that responsibility that has been so ably handled in their hands.
Tomorrow, we are meeting with Verne Harris of the Mandela Centre for Memory. He has agreed to look through their archives of his writing to see if that could contribute in any way to our project. I spoke to him on our second day in Cape Town and arranged to meet him whilst we were in Johannesburg.
We also should be able to solidify the time & date of the presentation / performance at the Market Laboratory Theatre in late November, either through a phone call or to meet up in person. But the priority is on meeting with Mr. Harris.
Having attempted to work on the internet today at a Café, I know see that we were quite spoiled in Cape Town with our wireless connection. I disappointedly showed my Achilles heel there, as my wife will know, about my frustration with computers. Needless to say, I will not be making any non-work related emails / internet forays in the near future.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
400 Year Old Glue
22 / 10 / 8
This project is getting wider than I had anticipated. It has become wider for good & ‘bad’ reasons:
First the ‘bad’ (in inverted commas because it really isn’t bad at all), due to the fact that it seems as though the men don’t remember marking the book and when shown the text that the supposedly marked, they don’t agree that they would have chosen that passage as their ‘favourite’ or one with resonance with them.
This to me the begs the question of the premise of our project. It potentially shakes the foundation of what we set out to do. And this is exciting and thrilling and blinding. Where will this lead next? As my theatrical ‘hero’ Anne Bogart says, ‘Out of crisis, comes creativity.’ She goes on to say that she purposely heads towards crisis as that will make something happen. I believe that we have created a crisis merely by coming down here and pursuing this project. There was no need to step off the cliff this time. But we have and we need to enjoy this crisis. We also need to push as many contacts as we can get and interview them just to see what happens. Who knows what stories we will get.
We don’t need to worry about not getting material as all of the veterans so far are highly steeped in Shakespeare, literature & education and how that shaped their lives whilst in Robben Island. And this material will be wonderful sourcework for a play.
The good reasons (and there are many):
There are just too many wonderful stories to be told and tell. At each meeting, we get told other people to speak to about this project. All could contribute to a brilliant performance that goes above & beyond our original simple remit of the Robben Island Bible project.
But, this means that we might lose our focus and be spread too thin - too many shiny pennies to look at but not one to grab a hold of, which can't happen. But to gather as much information through primary interviews and then sort it out later is how I think both David & I seem to think about it.
Our latest thoughts were spurred on by something that the gentlemen & Jean September spoke about: the ability of literature and the education system set up at Robben Island to keep men of a variety of political backgrounds and beliefs together and focused on the common enemy, the Apartheid regime. Robben Island has often been called the University of Robben Island due to the many men who earned diplomas & degrees whilst imprisoned and who were taught by their fellow prisoners.
A common cause that is the glue to keep these men together, educated and hopeful – Literature, Education & Shakespeare.
----
We met this morning with Jean September of the British Council (Steff O’Driscoll, if you are reading, she passes on her best to you). She seemed very pleased with the nature of the project and the progress so far. She recommended that we speak with Paul Boateng, the British High Commissioner in South Africa. She thought that he would be keen due to his strong interest in Shakespeare, literature and cross cultural exchanges. She also encouraged us to spend the night at Robben Island (yes, apparently you CAN!!! David got quite an excited shiver down his spine when offered this as did I).
This project is getting wider than I had anticipated. It has become wider for good & ‘bad’ reasons:
First the ‘bad’ (in inverted commas because it really isn’t bad at all), due to the fact that it seems as though the men don’t remember marking the book and when shown the text that the supposedly marked, they don’t agree that they would have chosen that passage as their ‘favourite’ or one with resonance with them.
This to me the begs the question of the premise of our project. It potentially shakes the foundation of what we set out to do. And this is exciting and thrilling and blinding. Where will this lead next? As my theatrical ‘hero’ Anne Bogart says, ‘Out of crisis, comes creativity.’ She goes on to say that she purposely heads towards crisis as that will make something happen. I believe that we have created a crisis merely by coming down here and pursuing this project. There was no need to step off the cliff this time. But we have and we need to enjoy this crisis. We also need to push as many contacts as we can get and interview them just to see what happens. Who knows what stories we will get.
We don’t need to worry about not getting material as all of the veterans so far are highly steeped in Shakespeare, literature & education and how that shaped their lives whilst in Robben Island. And this material will be wonderful sourcework for a play.
The good reasons (and there are many):
There are just too many wonderful stories to be told and tell. At each meeting, we get told other people to speak to about this project. All could contribute to a brilliant performance that goes above & beyond our original simple remit of the Robben Island Bible project.
But, this means that we might lose our focus and be spread too thin - too many shiny pennies to look at but not one to grab a hold of, which can't happen. But to gather as much information through primary interviews and then sort it out later is how I think both David & I seem to think about it.
Our latest thoughts were spurred on by something that the gentlemen & Jean September spoke about: the ability of literature and the education system set up at Robben Island to keep men of a variety of political backgrounds and beliefs together and focused on the common enemy, the Apartheid regime. Robben Island has often been called the University of Robben Island due to the many men who earned diplomas & degrees whilst imprisoned and who were taught by their fellow prisoners.
A common cause that is the glue to keep these men together, educated and hopeful – Literature, Education & Shakespeare.
----
We met this morning with Jean September of the British Council (Steff O’Driscoll, if you are reading, she passes on her best to you). She seemed very pleased with the nature of the project and the progress so far. She recommended that we speak with Paul Boateng, the British High Commissioner in South Africa. She thought that he would be keen due to his strong interest in Shakespeare, literature and cross cultural exchanges. She also encouraged us to spend the night at Robben Island (yes, apparently you CAN!!! David got quite an excited shiver down his spine when offered this as did I).
Three Gentle Men.....
21 / 10 / 8
These three men, Kathy, Andrew & Kwede were from the start the gentlest of men. Laughing & joking amonst themselves and allowing us into their world.
The youngest of the three, Kwede, never let the other two forget that he was merely 72 years old and the other two were at least 7 years older. This was not only done jokingly, but also showed the deep respect that he had for the older men.
Kwede came to Robben Island full of hatred for the Apartheid government and with white people in general. Through his education and his exposure to the older generation of Robben Islanders, he began to realize the error in his assumptions. As not all blacks are similar in their beliefs (he being of the PAC & them being of the ANC) neither are whites. He absolutely attributes this to his stay on the Island.
We are very pleased to have heard from the three of them that they would be more than happy to speak with us again before we leave to clarify and expand on the interviews. Music to our ears. Although they said that they did not feel 'prepared' for these interviews today, they spoke eloquently about literature, Shakespeare & their stay on the island. What more could we ask for? But, they want to review their knowledge of the bard and get back in touch so that they can tell us their favourite lines from the plays. Man, I have an easy and wonderful job!!
Tomorrow, we are off to the British Council in the morning. I want to speak to them about the project along with speaking about Theatre for a Change. Jean, the director of the BC in SA has heard of TfaC and knows that I work with them and is interested in learning more about the programme.
On Thursday, we will have a very special and personal tour of Robben Island, which I am looking forward to greatly. We will then meet some of the staff at the Island after our tour. Again, another very special moment which both of us are looking forward to.
Things are also moving along with the Market Theatre. They will be hosting a presentation / performance of our work at the end of our stay in November. Again, I am so pleased to have this opportunity.
These three men, Kathy, Andrew & Kwede were from the start the gentlest of men. Laughing & joking amonst themselves and allowing us into their world.
The youngest of the three, Kwede, never let the other two forget that he was merely 72 years old and the other two were at least 7 years older. This was not only done jokingly, but also showed the deep respect that he had for the older men.
Kwede came to Robben Island full of hatred for the Apartheid government and with white people in general. Through his education and his exposure to the older generation of Robben Islanders, he began to realize the error in his assumptions. As not all blacks are similar in their beliefs (he being of the PAC & them being of the ANC) neither are whites. He absolutely attributes this to his stay on the Island.
We are very pleased to have heard from the three of them that they would be more than happy to speak with us again before we leave to clarify and expand on the interviews. Music to our ears. Although they said that they did not feel 'prepared' for these interviews today, they spoke eloquently about literature, Shakespeare & their stay on the island. What more could we ask for? But, they want to review their knowledge of the bard and get back in touch so that they can tell us their favourite lines from the plays. Man, I have an easy and wonderful job!!
Tomorrow, we are off to the British Council in the morning. I want to speak to them about the project along with speaking about Theatre for a Change. Jean, the director of the BC in SA has heard of TfaC and knows that I work with them and is interested in learning more about the programme.
On Thursday, we will have a very special and personal tour of Robben Island, which I am looking forward to greatly. We will then meet some of the staff at the Island after our tour. Again, another very special moment which both of us are looking forward to.
Things are also moving along with the Market Theatre. They will be hosting a presentation / performance of our work at the end of our stay in November. Again, I am so pleased to have this opportunity.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Our first meeting
We did our first interview today with three truly wonderful men:
Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew (Clox) Mlengeni and Kwede Mkalipi. Ahmed
hosted the interviews at his Cape Town Apartment. We arrived a few
minutes before 10 am. I noted a library and bookshops close by
certainly the right community for a man with such love of books. Mr
Kathrada was very welcoming and we soon sat in the lounge and chatted.
Almost immediatly he made comment that the passage he marked was not
something he remembered doing and he felt there were other passages
from Shakespeare he would have been more likely to choose[which we later discovered him to be correct. We had marked the wrong passage and Kathy spotted it]. Any nerves
I may have had quickly subsided through the warm welcome Mr Kathrada
bestowed on us. We were soon joined by Parliamentarian, Andrew
Mlengi, and again we received a warm greeting as Mr Mlengeni shook our
hands and introduced himself as Andrew. Unsure of how he might be
able to help us, and like Mr Kathrada he didn't remember choosing the
passage for Shakespeare. However, Andrew began to talk about his
experience of Shakespeare and was soon quoting Lady Macbeth. The third
Comrade Kwede Mkalipi arrived and immediatly had his comrades and Matt
and I smiling. Being the younger Comrade by a few years he was soon
teased for this by Andrew. As we all sat down it was clear to see the
respect and shared admiration the three men had for each other.
Over the next two and 3/4 hours the conversation flowed. We now have the task of transcribing the passages and for me I am
already thinking of the story to be told.
It was a remarkable start to our work and it is hard to imagine
the warmth of spirit and learning that came from all three of these
men. Humanity can learn so much from taking the time to recognise the
experience imprisonment had on these men. For Kwede, he went in an
angry man that hated all white men,but after witnessing of the
terrible treatment of one white prisoner by a white guard that hatred
was not always about the colour of a human's skin. Alongside Kwede's
personal experiences, he also told us that with the support and
learning he received from his elder Comrades including Andrew and
Kathy, Kwede realised that knowledge, patience, using your wits and
using a wide range of strategies to resist and eventual be freed from
the oppression of Apartheid. Andrew told us how he always thought a
day would come when they would be released and they could create a
democratic South Africa in which they would be able to enfranchise the
disenfranchised. And Mr Kathrada shows how important resistance to
oppression through consumation of learning can not only help maintain
ones own hope but can also support comrades through their captive
time.
There is so much knowledge and experience I am still absorbing from
today's interviews and once we transcribe the interview I will have
much to create with and share.
Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew (Clox) Mlengeni and Kwede Mkalipi. Ahmed
hosted the interviews at his Cape Town Apartment. We arrived a few
minutes before 10 am. I noted a library and bookshops close by
certainly the right community for a man with such love of books. Mr
Kathrada was very welcoming and we soon sat in the lounge and chatted.
Almost immediatly he made comment that the passage he marked was not
something he remembered doing and he felt there were other passages
from Shakespeare he would have been more likely to choose[which we later discovered him to be correct. We had marked the wrong passage and Kathy spotted it]. Any nerves
I may have had quickly subsided through the warm welcome Mr Kathrada
bestowed on us. We were soon joined by Parliamentarian, Andrew
Mlengi, and again we received a warm greeting as Mr Mlengeni shook our
hands and introduced himself as Andrew. Unsure of how he might be
able to help us, and like Mr Kathrada he didn't remember choosing the
passage for Shakespeare. However, Andrew began to talk about his
experience of Shakespeare and was soon quoting Lady Macbeth. The third
Comrade Kwede Mkalipi arrived and immediatly had his comrades and Matt
and I smiling. Being the younger Comrade by a few years he was soon
teased for this by Andrew. As we all sat down it was clear to see the
respect and shared admiration the three men had for each other.
Over the next two and 3/4 hours the conversation flowed. We now have the task of transcribing the passages and for me I am
already thinking of the story to be told.
It was a remarkable start to our work and it is hard to imagine
the warmth of spirit and learning that came from all three of these
men. Humanity can learn so much from taking the time to recognise the
experience imprisonment had on these men. For Kwede, he went in an
angry man that hated all white men,but after witnessing of the
terrible treatment of one white prisoner by a white guard that hatred
was not always about the colour of a human's skin. Alongside Kwede's
personal experiences, he also told us that with the support and
learning he received from his elder Comrades including Andrew and
Kathy, Kwede realised that knowledge, patience, using your wits and
using a wide range of strategies to resist and eventual be freed from
the oppression of Apartheid. Andrew told us how he always thought a
day would come when they would be released and they could create a
democratic South Africa in which they would be able to enfranchise the
disenfranchised. And Mr Kathrada shows how important resistance to
oppression through consumation of learning can not only help maintain
ones own hope but can also support comrades through their captive
time.
There is so much knowledge and experience I am still absorbing from
today's interviews and once we transcribe the interview I will have
much to create with and share.
Monday, 20 October 2008
First Interviews......
Well,
We have a confirmation of three of the veterans who will be meeting us tomorrow. gulp.... they are Ahmed Kathrada, Kwedi Mkalipi & Andrew Clox Mlangeni. Biggies in the ANC & in the change into a democratic South Africa. So no pressure.....
but, we have been preparing for this for two years, so I hope that we are prepared. I am thrilled to hear and see what we get.
And it seems years ago (erm, i guess, because it has been 6 years) that Mark told me about the existance of this book. I never would have believed that that off-handed remark would result in this.
We have a confirmation of three of the veterans who will be meeting us tomorrow. gulp.... they are Ahmed Kathrada, Kwedi Mkalipi & Andrew Clox Mlangeni. Biggies in the ANC & in the change into a democratic South Africa. So no pressure.....
but, we have been preparing for this for two years, so I hope that we are prepared. I am thrilled to hear and see what we get.
And it seems years ago (erm, i guess, because it has been 6 years) that Mark told me about the existance of this book. I never would have believed that that off-handed remark would result in this.
Sunday, 19 October 2008
The weekend......
Last night David & I saw an production of Anthol Fugard's 'Hello & Goodbye' at the Baxter Theatre here in Cape Town. It was an excellent production in a beautiful space.
I hadnt seen a space like that sine living in Chicago. It was a slightly thrusted stage with sitting on three sides. Very intimate and in our faces. The entire Baxter complex is equally impressive hosting a larger space and a concert hall. Although I was slightly tempted to see the Baxter's other offering, PRISON CODES, I opted out of the prison musical and stuck with less risky offering. Which I was very glad to for many different reasons....
Today, we tinkered with 'technology' and the 'technology' almost won. I have been loaned excellent equipment by my friend Tod which did his best to explain to me his HD camera and audio recorder. I still failed at getting it to work properly today.
But, that is the reason for rehearsals. And the latest news is that it looks as though we are on for our first set of interviews on Tuesday with the veterans from Cape Town.
We are continuing to develop and fine tune our questions that we want to direct to the men. David is deep in the analysis of the text to see what connections can be made between the man and the character or text that he chose. We are continuing to dig up more information about the 'Bible' that, due to the sands of time, often are contradictory. But that is what makes it interesting. Who wants agreement in a piece of drama, which is of course exactly what we are creating.
The backpackers that we have been living in, Big Blue Backpackers in Cape Town, has proven to be an excellent hostel. Great location, a lot of room to stretch out, quiet during the day, and the hosts are very amenable to our needs. Nothing seems to bother them with any request. And as David & I spend much of our time here, on line or working, these are good things. A high recommendation especially if you want to get to the waterfront (which is where the Robben Island Museum is located & the boat to get to the Island) or to the beaches.
I must say that I am truly enjoying myself. How perfect of an opportunity is this for us? I feel very privledged. I would like to get out of Cape Town soon as I'd like to see more of South Africa again and my friend is getting married in Soweto next Sunday - we will be there and looking forward to it!!
I hadnt seen a space like that sine living in Chicago. It was a slightly thrusted stage with sitting on three sides. Very intimate and in our faces. The entire Baxter complex is equally impressive hosting a larger space and a concert hall. Although I was slightly tempted to see the Baxter's other offering, PRISON CODES, I opted out of the prison musical and stuck with less risky offering. Which I was very glad to for many different reasons....
Today, we tinkered with 'technology' and the 'technology' almost won. I have been loaned excellent equipment by my friend Tod which did his best to explain to me his HD camera and audio recorder. I still failed at getting it to work properly today.
But, that is the reason for rehearsals. And the latest news is that it looks as though we are on for our first set of interviews on Tuesday with the veterans from Cape Town.
We are continuing to develop and fine tune our questions that we want to direct to the men. David is deep in the analysis of the text to see what connections can be made between the man and the character or text that he chose. We are continuing to dig up more information about the 'Bible' that, due to the sands of time, often are contradictory. But that is what makes it interesting. Who wants agreement in a piece of drama, which is of course exactly what we are creating.
The backpackers that we have been living in, Big Blue Backpackers in Cape Town, has proven to be an excellent hostel. Great location, a lot of room to stretch out, quiet during the day, and the hosts are very amenable to our needs. Nothing seems to bother them with any request. And as David & I spend much of our time here, on line or working, these are good things. A high recommendation especially if you want to get to the waterfront (which is where the Robben Island Museum is located & the boat to get to the Island) or to the beaches.
I must say that I am truly enjoying myself. How perfect of an opportunity is this for us? I feel very privledged. I would like to get out of Cape Town soon as I'd like to see more of South Africa again and my friend is getting married in Soweto next Sunday - we will be there and looking forward to it!!
A bit more colour to the ‘Bible’:
The following is an interview with Sonny Venkatruthnam from 2002, the owner of the Robben Island Bible:
‘The warder says, “the Anglican Church is here this week.’ You see, it was a practice every Sunday; either the Methodist or the Roman Catholics or Dutch Reformed or whoever, comes there and hold services in the section. So he told me it was the Anglican Church and I said, “Anglican Church? I didn’t know Anglican Church comes here because I thought only the Dutch Reformed Church comes here.” I said, I’m playing on his English background, you see. He says, no, the Anglican Church comes there, he goes to it and blah blah blah. I tell him I’m an Anglican you know but I left my Bible in the storeroom. Okay, he says he’ll open the storeroom. He takes out his keys; opens the storeroom; and I pick out my book: The Complete Works of Shakespeare. I take it out and show it to him then, look there’s the Bible by William Shakespeare. So he let me have it, so I took it to my cell and we were celebrating. Now this is before other things happened, before the petition, now we have got this book. The problem is how do we hide it because there is nothing it’s a bare room, you see, we didn’t even have cupboards, nothing.
‘It was Deepavali time (‘Festival of Lights’, Indian Festival) and my parents sent me greeting cards. These are your typical Deepavali greeting cards. So I took those cards, cut them up and pasted the photographs on this [book] and we used porridge to stick it up. It’s the way it is since I had it on Robben Island. And I openly left this on the shelf, not shelf but on the window-sill, right behind my bed. They would come and ask me "what’s that?" And they would ask, "what's this?" And I said, "It’s my Bible." The one thing of the Afrikaner is that, there are two things he’s scared of: his God and his Bible, and a lawyer. They are very scared of a lawyer. So I had this, they did not touch it.
I think about four or five months before I left I got this complete works of Shakespeare, which I sent around and asked each one of them to choose a line or a paragraph that they can, or want to identify with. And it took about almost two months for it to make its rounds. And everybody chose a line or a paragraph and autographed it for me. Only single cells (political prisoners) got it. I didn’t have access to the general. Everybody signed, ya, you know. I have got a whole list of people that signed. You know Kader Hassim, Billy Nair, Walter Sisulu, Seake, Mobs Sikana, JB Busani, Govan Mbeki, Wilton Mkwai. Mac Maharaj, Joe Kabe, Bengu, Kathrada, Nelson Mandela, Andrew Masondo, Laloo Chiba, Andrew Mlageni, Eddie Daniels, Michael Dingakakis, Saths Cooper, Strini Moodley, Frank Anthony, Justice Mpunza, who died three weeks ago. Essop, Mohamed Essop, Neville Alexander, Cholo, Mhlaba, all of these people chose different lines. Govan Mbeki chose passage in Twelfth Night page 349.
Ya, this is Govan Mbeki. December 1977, he signed this and he told me that he always quoted this passage:
"If music be the food of love play on,
Give me excess of it..." blah, blah, blah.
That was his favourite passage because I asked him to mark it he said no that whole passage is his favourite, okay. Nelson Mandela - Julius Caesar page 980. Nelson chose lines from Julius Caesar. He autographed this on the 16th December 1977 (the anniversary of formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Spear of the Nation ( the armed wing of the ANC which was formed on 16th December 1961).
And the lines he chose were Caesar’s words:
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once,
For all the wonders that I have yet heard,
It seems to be more strain that men should fear,
Seeing that death a necessary end will come when it will come."
Okay. Andrew Masondo, this guy's a brigadier in the army now. He chose a passage again from Julius Caesar this is from Anthony and the passage he chose was:
"Oh pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am meek and gentle with these butchers, Thou art the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times; Woe to the end that shed this costly blood, Over thy wounds now do I prophesy which like dumb months do hope there will be lips to beg the voice and utterance of my tongue."
Looking at this passage I think it's well chosen by Andrew Masondo because he was involved in that Quattro camp, and here he is talking about a similar thing. This is the way the man was thinking. And Anthony was now going to seek revenge over Caesar’s murderers, and that’s him.
‘The warder says, “the Anglican Church is here this week.’ You see, it was a practice every Sunday; either the Methodist or the Roman Catholics or Dutch Reformed or whoever, comes there and hold services in the section. So he told me it was the Anglican Church and I said, “Anglican Church? I didn’t know Anglican Church comes here because I thought only the Dutch Reformed Church comes here.” I said, I’m playing on his English background, you see. He says, no, the Anglican Church comes there, he goes to it and blah blah blah. I tell him I’m an Anglican you know but I left my Bible in the storeroom. Okay, he says he’ll open the storeroom. He takes out his keys; opens the storeroom; and I pick out my book: The Complete Works of Shakespeare. I take it out and show it to him then, look there’s the Bible by William Shakespeare. So he let me have it, so I took it to my cell and we were celebrating. Now this is before other things happened, before the petition, now we have got this book. The problem is how do we hide it because there is nothing it’s a bare room, you see, we didn’t even have cupboards, nothing.
‘It was Deepavali time (‘Festival of Lights’, Indian Festival) and my parents sent me greeting cards. These are your typical Deepavali greeting cards. So I took those cards, cut them up and pasted the photographs on this [book] and we used porridge to stick it up. It’s the way it is since I had it on Robben Island. And I openly left this on the shelf, not shelf but on the window-sill, right behind my bed. They would come and ask me "what’s that?" And they would ask, "what's this?" And I said, "It’s my Bible." The one thing of the Afrikaner is that, there are two things he’s scared of: his God and his Bible, and a lawyer. They are very scared of a lawyer. So I had this, they did not touch it.
I think about four or five months before I left I got this complete works of Shakespeare, which I sent around and asked each one of them to choose a line or a paragraph that they can, or want to identify with. And it took about almost two months for it to make its rounds. And everybody chose a line or a paragraph and autographed it for me. Only single cells (political prisoners) got it. I didn’t have access to the general. Everybody signed, ya, you know. I have got a whole list of people that signed. You know Kader Hassim, Billy Nair, Walter Sisulu, Seake, Mobs Sikana, JB Busani, Govan Mbeki, Wilton Mkwai. Mac Maharaj, Joe Kabe, Bengu, Kathrada, Nelson Mandela, Andrew Masondo, Laloo Chiba, Andrew Mlageni, Eddie Daniels, Michael Dingakakis, Saths Cooper, Strini Moodley, Frank Anthony, Justice Mpunza, who died three weeks ago. Essop, Mohamed Essop, Neville Alexander, Cholo, Mhlaba, all of these people chose different lines. Govan Mbeki chose passage in Twelfth Night page 349.
Ya, this is Govan Mbeki. December 1977, he signed this and he told me that he always quoted this passage:
"If music be the food of love play on,
Give me excess of it..." blah, blah, blah.
That was his favourite passage because I asked him to mark it he said no that whole passage is his favourite, okay. Nelson Mandela - Julius Caesar page 980. Nelson chose lines from Julius Caesar. He autographed this on the 16th December 1977 (the anniversary of formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe, Spear of the Nation ( the armed wing of the ANC which was formed on 16th December 1961).
And the lines he chose were Caesar’s words:
"Cowards die many times before their deaths,
The valiant never taste of death but once,
For all the wonders that I have yet heard,
It seems to be more strain that men should fear,
Seeing that death a necessary end will come when it will come."
Okay. Andrew Masondo, this guy's a brigadier in the army now. He chose a passage again from Julius Caesar this is from Anthony and the passage he chose was:
"Oh pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth that I am meek and gentle with these butchers, Thou art the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times; Woe to the end that shed this costly blood, Over thy wounds now do I prophesy which like dumb months do hope there will be lips to beg the voice and utterance of my tongue."
Looking at this passage I think it's well chosen by Andrew Masondo because he was involved in that Quattro camp, and here he is talking about a similar thing. This is the way the man was thinking. And Anthony was now going to seek revenge over Caesar’s murderers, and that’s him.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
‘It’s in our hands’
18 / 10 / 8
‘It’s in our hands’
That quote just popped up on my desktop. I guess that it often will as I have a photo of Mandela with the quote above it as my background.
I spoke with Masie, a friend & researcher, in Johannesburg this morning and he has done an excellent job of arranging for a meeting with the veterans in Cape Town. He lives in Soweto and I met him the first time I visited South Africa in 2003. He said to me that he is so pleased to be working on this project with David & I due to the fact that it is such an important subject and something that needs to be broadcasted. He was disappointed that it took two ‘foreigners’ to get this project off the ground, but now that it is, he is very pleased to be a part of it.
I am a bit nervous about our first meeting. In the back of my mind, I wish that he would be with us for the interviews as I do feel like a ‘foreigner’ and would greatly appreciate his calming influence. But, he has had the nerve to get married next week and, as he says, he is ‘stressed up to his neck’ with things to do. So, I guess that it is up to just David & I. I hope that he will be able to come to future interviews as, besides the fact that he would be a calming person, he deserves to meet these fellow South Africans whom he holds in such high regard.
David and I were taken on a beautiful tour of the Cape from Cape Town around and beyond Clifton beach. We watched the sun set behind Sentinel mountain and checked out the native and foreign fauna along the road. They had closed part of the road due to rock slides, but this gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs and get really close to the land as we carried on walking a kilometre or so after parking our car.
We went with Richard Whiting, the research manager at the Robben Island Museum. He was an excellent guide and had an interesting life story which led him to the museum. Again, I am reminded of Mandela’s words that there are more people involved than the world knows. And Richard is one of them. A very potted History: He left South Africa to escape conscription into the army because, as he puts it, ‘first it will be (service) in Botswana or Namibia but later then it would be Soweto (this was in the late 1970’s after the Soweto uprising)’. So he left to Botswana. He came to the UK to study and finally returned to a democratic SA in the 1990’s.
He has given us a lot of material to mull over and digest in preparation for our first set of interviews early next week.
We are off to RIM later today – David hopes to take a tour of the prison while I stay on at the museum (I went to the prison in 2003). Other than that, a pretty lazy day. Read my beloved ‘Mail & Guardian’ newspaper whilst sipping coffee by the pool. Hard knock research project (I hope Trevor doesn’t read this…..).
‘It’s in our hands’
That quote just popped up on my desktop. I guess that it often will as I have a photo of Mandela with the quote above it as my background.
I spoke with Masie, a friend & researcher, in Johannesburg this morning and he has done an excellent job of arranging for a meeting with the veterans in Cape Town. He lives in Soweto and I met him the first time I visited South Africa in 2003. He said to me that he is so pleased to be working on this project with David & I due to the fact that it is such an important subject and something that needs to be broadcasted. He was disappointed that it took two ‘foreigners’ to get this project off the ground, but now that it is, he is very pleased to be a part of it.
I am a bit nervous about our first meeting. In the back of my mind, I wish that he would be with us for the interviews as I do feel like a ‘foreigner’ and would greatly appreciate his calming influence. But, he has had the nerve to get married next week and, as he says, he is ‘stressed up to his neck’ with things to do. So, I guess that it is up to just David & I. I hope that he will be able to come to future interviews as, besides the fact that he would be a calming person, he deserves to meet these fellow South Africans whom he holds in such high regard.
David and I were taken on a beautiful tour of the Cape from Cape Town around and beyond Clifton beach. We watched the sun set behind Sentinel mountain and checked out the native and foreign fauna along the road. They had closed part of the road due to rock slides, but this gave us an opportunity to stretch our legs and get really close to the land as we carried on walking a kilometre or so after parking our car.
We went with Richard Whiting, the research manager at the Robben Island Museum. He was an excellent guide and had an interesting life story which led him to the museum. Again, I am reminded of Mandela’s words that there are more people involved than the world knows. And Richard is one of them. A very potted History: He left South Africa to escape conscription into the army because, as he puts it, ‘first it will be (service) in Botswana or Namibia but later then it would be Soweto (this was in the late 1970’s after the Soweto uprising)’. So he left to Botswana. He came to the UK to study and finally returned to a democratic SA in the 1990’s.
He has given us a lot of material to mull over and digest in preparation for our first set of interviews early next week.
We are off to RIM later today – David hopes to take a tour of the prison while I stay on at the museum (I went to the prison in 2003). Other than that, a pretty lazy day. Read my beloved ‘Mail & Guardian’ newspaper whilst sipping coffee by the pool. Hard knock research project (I hope Trevor doesn’t read this…..).
Friday, 17 October 2008
We have arrived.....
17 / 10 / 8
Just in Cape Town now for over 24 hours and it has been a wonderful start to our adventures. During the flight, I spent the time re-reading the brief biographies that I had prepared about each of the men whom David and I will be interviewing for the piece. Most of the information was gleaned from the internet and a variety of other sources. One thing that struck me is that everyone (including myself) is excitedly holding out hope that we might be able to interview Nelson Mandela. But as I read this bios, I am very much struck by the fact, and Mr. Mandela repeatedly states that in his writing as well, that it was not just a one man show that sheparded in a democratic South Africa, but many many people including many who signed the ‘bible.’
Just look at the following brief about Ahmed (Kathy) Kathrada:
‘Ahmed M. Kathrada is a veteran of the South African liberation struggle and one of the famous Rivonia trialists, and was a long-serving political prisoner on Robben Island and Pollsmoor Maximum Prison, and ANC leader and Member of Parliament.
In 1952, Kathy helped organize the 'Campaign of Defiance against Unjust laws', launched jointly by the African National Congress and the South African Indian Congress. The Defiance campaign targeted six unjust apartheid laws, amongst them being the Pass Laws, stock limitation regulations, the Group Areas Act, the separate representation of Voters Act, the Suppression of Communism Act and the Bantu Authorities Act.
In December 1962, Kathy was subjected to 'house arrest' for 13 hours a day. He went underground and continued attending secret meetings at Rivonia, the underground headquarters of the African National Congress. It was there that he was arrested with other leaders of the underground movement in July 1963. It was his 18th arrest on political grounds. Although he was then no longer a member of the MK Regional Command, he was tried with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Dennis Goldberg and other leaders and was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1964. They were charged with organizing and directing Umkhonto we Sizwe ('Spear of the Nation'), the military wing of the African National Congress. They were found guilty of committing specific acts of sabotage. At the age of 34, in 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island where he spent the next 18 years with his colleagues in the isolation section of the Maximum Security Prison.’
And fortunately, we have an opportunity to interview this man who has greatly shaped the new South Africa.
Kathy chose the following text from Henry V:
King Henry V page 563
Act 3 Prologue, lines 2-15:
Chorus: Thus with imagin’d wing our swift scene flies,
In motion of no less celerity
Than that of thought. Suppose that you have seen
The well-appointed King at Hampton pier
Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet
With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning.
Play with your fancies; and in them behold
Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing;
Hear the shrill whistle which dot order give
To sounds confus’d; behold the threaden sails,
Borne with th’invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea,
Breasting the lofty surge. O, do but think
You stand upon the ravage and behold
A city on th’inconstant billows dancing;
scene 1. France. Before Harfleur.
King: ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the Tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow
o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean,
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril
Wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every
Spirit
To his full height. On, on you noblest
English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war
-proof-
Fathers that like so many Alexanders
Have in these parts from morm till even
Fought,
And sheath’d their swords for lack of
Argument.
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did
Beget you.
Be copy now for men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you,
good yeomen,
Whose limbs were made in England, show
us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding-which
I doubt not;
For there is non of you so mean and base
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit; and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint
George!’
The themes of his chosen piece include: faith, loyalty, fighting for freedom, courage, resistance to power, knowledge is power, & belief in an ideal.
It is interesting that Kathrada has also been described by members of the ANC as, ‘brave as a lion….absolutely fearless’. Interesting in the famous battle speech of Henry V, the king asks his men to ‘imitate the action of the Tiger;
'Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood’
Both the prologue and the speech that follows would provide a sense of determination, a need for bravery and to draw on inner human strength. To read this passage when confined and your freedom to act is disabled must have given Kathrada some kind of focus and hope to continue fighting the oppressor. Arguably this demonstrates the power of the literature of Shakespeare can act as an enabling tool for the mind, when the physical body is not in a position to take action.
16 / 10 / 8
The mechanics of the interviews:
I decided that there is no time like the present and no matter how much both David and I were jet lagged (neither of us slept well on the airplane), we needed to get stuck in.
Having cultivated many relationships via email over the past two years with a variety of people, it was very exciting to attempt to speak with them person to person. My first adventure was to speak with Deidre, the education director at the Robben Island Museum. No joy….. but left a message and plan on visiting the musem anyway tomorrow.
I have just gotten off the phone with a Verne Harris, the director of the Mandela Centre for Memory. He has been the closest (one degree of separation) to Nelson Mandela that I have so far been able to achieve. I figure that a centre for memory would be very interested in working on this piece with us.
Naturally, he doesn’t believe that Mandela is able to assist us with the project. He says that even if we did schedule a meeting with him, he has good and bad days and so it may or may not happen. Rightly, they are very protective of him and repeatedly say that he has retired from giving interviews or commenting on research that is conducted. So, needless to say we are disappointed, but not surprised nor sad. He deserves to be left alone. He has given so much to South Africa and the world, that not much else needs to be done. He said to us on on 90th birthday, ‘Its in our hands now.’ Exactly.
But on a better note, Mr. Harris has agreed to assist us in any way be going back through Mr. Mandela’s writing to see if there is anything about the ‘bible’ that we might be able to use. Which is excellent news.
We took a walk around the waterfront today and spoiled ourselves with a very posh dinner there. It is a beautiful place, made even more interesting due to the fact that it is a working dock as well as a tourist destination.
Just in Cape Town now for over 24 hours and it has been a wonderful start to our adventures. During the flight, I spent the time re-reading the brief biographies that I had prepared about each of the men whom David and I will be interviewing for the piece. Most of the information was gleaned from the internet and a variety of other sources. One thing that struck me is that everyone (including myself) is excitedly holding out hope that we might be able to interview Nelson Mandela. But as I read this bios, I am very much struck by the fact, and Mr. Mandela repeatedly states that in his writing as well, that it was not just a one man show that sheparded in a democratic South Africa, but many many people including many who signed the ‘bible.’
Just look at the following brief about Ahmed (Kathy) Kathrada:
‘Ahmed M. Kathrada is a veteran of the South African liberation struggle and one of the famous Rivonia trialists, and was a long-serving political prisoner on Robben Island and Pollsmoor Maximum Prison, and ANC leader and Member of Parliament.
In 1952, Kathy helped organize the 'Campaign of Defiance against Unjust laws', launched jointly by the African National Congress and the South African Indian Congress. The Defiance campaign targeted six unjust apartheid laws, amongst them being the Pass Laws, stock limitation regulations, the Group Areas Act, the separate representation of Voters Act, the Suppression of Communism Act and the Bantu Authorities Act.
In December 1962, Kathy was subjected to 'house arrest' for 13 hours a day. He went underground and continued attending secret meetings at Rivonia, the underground headquarters of the African National Congress. It was there that he was arrested with other leaders of the underground movement in July 1963. It was his 18th arrest on political grounds. Although he was then no longer a member of the MK Regional Command, he was tried with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Dennis Goldberg and other leaders and was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1964. They were charged with organizing and directing Umkhonto we Sizwe ('Spear of the Nation'), the military wing of the African National Congress. They were found guilty of committing specific acts of sabotage. At the age of 34, in 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island where he spent the next 18 years with his colleagues in the isolation section of the Maximum Security Prison.’
And fortunately, we have an opportunity to interview this man who has greatly shaped the new South Africa.
Kathy chose the following text from Henry V:
King Henry V page 563
Act 3 Prologue, lines 2-15:
Chorus: Thus with imagin’d wing our swift scene flies,
In motion of no less celerity
Than that of thought. Suppose that you have seen
The well-appointed King at Hampton pier
Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet
With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning.
Play with your fancies; and in them behold
Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing;
Hear the shrill whistle which dot order give
To sounds confus’d; behold the threaden sails,
Borne with th’invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea,
Breasting the lofty surge. O, do but think
You stand upon the ravage and behold
A city on th’inconstant billows dancing;
scene 1. France. Before Harfleur.
King: ‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the Tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favoured rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow
o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean,
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril
Wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every
Spirit
To his full height. On, on you noblest
English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war
-proof-
Fathers that like so many Alexanders
Have in these parts from morm till even
Fought,
And sheath’d their swords for lack of
Argument.
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did
Beget you.
Be copy now for men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you,
good yeomen,
Whose limbs were made in England, show
us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding-which
I doubt not;
For there is non of you so mean and base
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit; and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint
George!’
The themes of his chosen piece include: faith, loyalty, fighting for freedom, courage, resistance to power, knowledge is power, & belief in an ideal.
It is interesting that Kathrada has also been described by members of the ANC as, ‘brave as a lion….absolutely fearless’. Interesting in the famous battle speech of Henry V, the king asks his men to ‘imitate the action of the Tiger;
'Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood’
Both the prologue and the speech that follows would provide a sense of determination, a need for bravery and to draw on inner human strength. To read this passage when confined and your freedom to act is disabled must have given Kathrada some kind of focus and hope to continue fighting the oppressor. Arguably this demonstrates the power of the literature of Shakespeare can act as an enabling tool for the mind, when the physical body is not in a position to take action.
16 / 10 / 8
The mechanics of the interviews:
I decided that there is no time like the present and no matter how much both David and I were jet lagged (neither of us slept well on the airplane), we needed to get stuck in.
Having cultivated many relationships via email over the past two years with a variety of people, it was very exciting to attempt to speak with them person to person. My first adventure was to speak with Deidre, the education director at the Robben Island Museum. No joy….. but left a message and plan on visiting the musem anyway tomorrow.
I have just gotten off the phone with a Verne Harris, the director of the Mandela Centre for Memory. He has been the closest (one degree of separation) to Nelson Mandela that I have so far been able to achieve. I figure that a centre for memory would be very interested in working on this piece with us.
Naturally, he doesn’t believe that Mandela is able to assist us with the project. He says that even if we did schedule a meeting with him, he has good and bad days and so it may or may not happen. Rightly, they are very protective of him and repeatedly say that he has retired from giving interviews or commenting on research that is conducted. So, needless to say we are disappointed, but not surprised nor sad. He deserves to be left alone. He has given so much to South Africa and the world, that not much else needs to be done. He said to us on on 90th birthday, ‘Its in our hands now.’ Exactly.
But on a better note, Mr. Harris has agreed to assist us in any way be going back through Mr. Mandela’s writing to see if there is anything about the ‘bible’ that we might be able to use. Which is excellent news.
We took a walk around the waterfront today and spoiled ourselves with a very posh dinner there. It is a beautiful place, made even more interesting due to the fact that it is a working dock as well as a tourist destination.
Wednesday, 8 October 2008
Our Goals for this R&D project:
We am in the process of devising a play based on Mr. Sonny Venkatrathnam's copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, infamously known as the 'Robben Island Bible'. We will be in South Africa next week to develop the play with the signatories of the ‘Bible’ and South African actors which will culminate in a presentation of our findings in late November to the veterans, other stakeholders, and the general public in South Africa & in the United Kingdom.
In January, the playwright David Taylor & I met with the South African High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ms Lindiwe Mabuza, who expressed great enthusiasm for the project and has given us her full support. The High Commissioner contacted Dr. John Kani, who has also given his support to the project. The High Commissioner has also agreed to contact the former President Thabo Mbeki to aid us with the research and development of this project as his father was also one of the signatories. We have also spoken with Ms. Jean September at the British Council in South Africa who has agreed to assist us with the production.
The project centres on a devised play that intertwines the Shakespearian text chosen by the political prisoners with dialogue taken from interviews with them. We will use the stories behind their choices as the basis for the theatrical production.
This project has great potential not only in terms of theatrical but also educational outcomes. Working with a range of both young actors in the early stages of learning their craft and experienced actors, such as Dr. John Kani, we will be providing the opportunity to further understand the social, political, and historical significance of Robben Island in connection with the way literature served as a means of providing resistance and hope to the comrades.
We will also be providing the opportunity for those audiences who might be too young to remember the Apartheid era through a tour of the final production throughout schools in Southern Africa and in the United Kingdom. It is important to us, as the director & playwright of the piece, to find as much first person information as possible. Each person's contribution is invaluable to the production and will provide validity to the work. The genesis of the questioning will be to ascertain why they chose these passages. This might include revisiting the time when Sonny shared The Complete Works with his fellow prisoners, using reminiscence theatre techniques which will aid the comrades by providing memory ‘triggers’ such as Sonny’s copy of the plays, video, photographs, visits to Robben Island or Robben Island Museum.
Due to the nature of the project, we have placed great emphasis on international collaboration. Our aim is to seek working partnerships more of the Comrades who signed their names whilst on Robben Island and a variety of professional and non-professional actors throughout South Africa.
To date, we have the support of Mr. Venkatrathnam and Dr. Kani, the British Council in South Africa, the UK South African High Commissioner, St. Mary's University-College in Twickenham, UK and two of the Bible's signatories.
This project will:
- For the first time on stage, unite the words of William Shakespeare to the thoughts, hopes, resistance, struggle and resilience of the political prisoners held on Robben Island in the second half of the twentieth century in South Africa.
- Use passages selected by the prisoners as the backbone of the production to construct a piece of theatre that will aim to inform and entertain a wide-reaching audience.
In undertaking our research and development in South Africa, we plan the following:
Week 1
Playwright & director use available resources at the Robben Island Museum to further their knowledge
Weeks 2 / 3
Interviews with comrades at the Robben Island Museum
Weeks 4 / 5 / 6
Develop stories from the interviews and play framework with South African students and actors.
End of Week 6 Show their progress to the comrades and an audience of stakeholders and public to review the work.
Upon return to the United Kingdom, we plan to finalise the project and to work with our partners here and in South Africa who are interested in producing the play.
In January, the playwright David Taylor & I met with the South African High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ms Lindiwe Mabuza, who expressed great enthusiasm for the project and has given us her full support. The High Commissioner contacted Dr. John Kani, who has also given his support to the project. The High Commissioner has also agreed to contact the former President Thabo Mbeki to aid us with the research and development of this project as his father was also one of the signatories. We have also spoken with Ms. Jean September at the British Council in South Africa who has agreed to assist us with the production.
The project centres on a devised play that intertwines the Shakespearian text chosen by the political prisoners with dialogue taken from interviews with them. We will use the stories behind their choices as the basis for the theatrical production.
This project has great potential not only in terms of theatrical but also educational outcomes. Working with a range of both young actors in the early stages of learning their craft and experienced actors, such as Dr. John Kani, we will be providing the opportunity to further understand the social, political, and historical significance of Robben Island in connection with the way literature served as a means of providing resistance and hope to the comrades.
We will also be providing the opportunity for those audiences who might be too young to remember the Apartheid era through a tour of the final production throughout schools in Southern Africa and in the United Kingdom. It is important to us, as the director & playwright of the piece, to find as much first person information as possible. Each person's contribution is invaluable to the production and will provide validity to the work. The genesis of the questioning will be to ascertain why they chose these passages. This might include revisiting the time when Sonny shared The Complete Works with his fellow prisoners, using reminiscence theatre techniques which will aid the comrades by providing memory ‘triggers’ such as Sonny’s copy of the plays, video, photographs, visits to Robben Island or Robben Island Museum.
Due to the nature of the project, we have placed great emphasis on international collaboration. Our aim is to seek working partnerships more of the Comrades who signed their names whilst on Robben Island and a variety of professional and non-professional actors throughout South Africa.
To date, we have the support of Mr. Venkatrathnam and Dr. Kani, the British Council in South Africa, the UK South African High Commissioner, St. Mary's University-College in Twickenham, UK and two of the Bible's signatories.
This project will:
- For the first time on stage, unite the words of William Shakespeare to the thoughts, hopes, resistance, struggle and resilience of the political prisoners held on Robben Island in the second half of the twentieth century in South Africa.
- Use passages selected by the prisoners as the backbone of the production to construct a piece of theatre that will aim to inform and entertain a wide-reaching audience.
In undertaking our research and development in South Africa, we plan the following:
Week 1
Playwright & director use available resources at the Robben Island Museum to further their knowledge
Weeks 2 / 3
Interviews with comrades at the Robben Island Museum
Weeks 4 / 5 / 6
Develop stories from the interviews and play framework with South African students and actors.
End of Week 6 Show their progress to the comrades and an audience of stakeholders and public to review the work.
Upon return to the United Kingdom, we plan to finalise the project and to work with our partners here and in South Africa who are interested in producing the play.
A bit of background.......
Hamlet’s Dreams
David Schalkwyk
If you were to visit Stratford-upon-Avon this year in search of Shakespeare you would be offered, alongside the usual attractions of the ‘Birthplace’ and Anne Hathaway’s cottage, an exhibition entitled ‘Shakespeare – The Complete Works’. Intrigued, you would part with the equivalent of fifty rand, and take the narrow sixteenth-century staircase up to a low-ceilinged room that promises not merely Shakespeare, but the complete Shakespeare.
One exhibit is arresting. Given an independent case – a large, free-standing cabinet at the head of the stairway – there is a single medium-sized volume that could mark either the beginning or the end of your tour. The volume currently on display in Nash House is the 1970 imprint. What makes it so special? It is not owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust which sponsored the exhibition, or the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, which has its offices down the road, but by a South African: Sonny Venkatrathnam. It is the so-called ‘Robben Island Shakespeare’ (also known as the Robben Island Bible). A political prisoner on Robben Island during the 1970s, Venkatratham was able to smuggle his copy of Shakespeare’s works into the prison by persuading his warders that it was a religious Hindu text. He then surreptitiously passed the book to a number of his fellow prisoners in the single cells. Over a period of four or
five years (this process took a long time) each prisoner marked his favourite passage, and signed it with the date. The Robben Island Shakespeare contains thirty-two signatures, including those of Walter Sisulu, Neville Alexander, Billy Nair, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Masondo, and Mac Maharaj. The page on which Venkatrathnam’s Shakespeare is open for display in Stratford was signed on the16th of December 1979, with the name ‘Nelson Mandela’: ‘Cowards die many times before their deaths / The valiant never taste of death but once’ (Shakespeare, 2005: Julius Caesar, 2.2.32-3).
It is clear that those who made their personal marks of identification in Venkatrathnam’s book found something in Shakespeare – whether from their time at school, or before they entered the prison, or even in the prison itself, through which they could express their personal and collective voices.
There are 32 signatures in the book that Venkatrathnam circulated, a fraction of the number imprisoned on the Island in the nineteen-seventies. The signatories were members of a literate elite, separated from the vast body of prisoners in the communal cells. So to claim that Shakespeare united all ‘the prisoners at Robben Island’ is somewhat wishful, or negligent, or both. But if Shakespeare may be said to have invigorated the bleak life of the Robben Island elite, Robben Island itself also invigorates and legitimises the idea of
Shakespeare in present-day Stratford. Having been circulated stealthily as a force of memory, inspiration, perhaps even of mere piety, in the South African prison more than two decades ago, Shakespeare is himself now released in this contemporary British exhibition of cultural capital from obscurity and irrelevance by the mythical force of Mandela and his island.
David Schalkwyk
If you were to visit Stratford-upon-Avon this year in search of Shakespeare you would be offered, alongside the usual attractions of the ‘Birthplace’ and Anne Hathaway’s cottage, an exhibition entitled ‘Shakespeare – The Complete Works’. Intrigued, you would part with the equivalent of fifty rand, and take the narrow sixteenth-century staircase up to a low-ceilinged room that promises not merely Shakespeare, but the complete Shakespeare.
One exhibit is arresting. Given an independent case – a large, free-standing cabinet at the head of the stairway – there is a single medium-sized volume that could mark either the beginning or the end of your tour. The volume currently on display in Nash House is the 1970 imprint. What makes it so special? It is not owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust which sponsored the exhibition, or the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham, which has its offices down the road, but by a South African: Sonny Venkatrathnam. It is the so-called ‘Robben Island Shakespeare’ (also known as the Robben Island Bible). A political prisoner on Robben Island during the 1970s, Venkatratham was able to smuggle his copy of Shakespeare’s works into the prison by persuading his warders that it was a religious Hindu text. He then surreptitiously passed the book to a number of his fellow prisoners in the single cells. Over a period of four or
five years (this process took a long time) each prisoner marked his favourite passage, and signed it with the date. The Robben Island Shakespeare contains thirty-two signatures, including those of Walter Sisulu, Neville Alexander, Billy Nair, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Masondo, and Mac Maharaj. The page on which Venkatrathnam’s Shakespeare is open for display in Stratford was signed on the16th of December 1979, with the name ‘Nelson Mandela’: ‘Cowards die many times before their deaths / The valiant never taste of death but once’ (Shakespeare, 2005: Julius Caesar, 2.2.32-3).
It is clear that those who made their personal marks of identification in Venkatrathnam’s book found something in Shakespeare – whether from their time at school, or before they entered the prison, or even in the prison itself, through which they could express their personal and collective voices.
There are 32 signatures in the book that Venkatrathnam circulated, a fraction of the number imprisoned on the Island in the nineteen-seventies. The signatories were members of a literate elite, separated from the vast body of prisoners in the communal cells. So to claim that Shakespeare united all ‘the prisoners at Robben Island’ is somewhat wishful, or negligent, or both. But if Shakespeare may be said to have invigorated the bleak life of the Robben Island elite, Robben Island itself also invigorates and legitimises the idea of
Shakespeare in present-day Stratford. Having been circulated stealthily as a force of memory, inspiration, perhaps even of mere piety, in the South African prison more than two decades ago, Shakespeare is himself now released in this contemporary British exhibition of cultural capital from obscurity and irrelevance by the mythical force of Mandela and his island.
The Robben Island Bible Project
I am developing a play based on Mr. Sony Venkatrathnam's copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, infamously known as the 'Robben Island Bible'. Theatre Director Matthew Hahn is developing a devised play with former political prisoners & South African actors to present a full production in South Africa.
The play will intertwine the Shakespearian text chosen by the political prisoners along with dialogue taken from interviews with them. It will use the stories behind the men’s choices as the backbone of the production which aims to inform and entertain a wide-reaching audience.
The project has gained the support of many prominent South Africans and international organisations including the South African High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ms Lindiwe Mabuza, Tony Award winning actor Dr. John Kani, British Council in South Africa and St. Mary’s University College in London. To date, we also have the support of three of the men who signed the ‘bible’: Mr. Venkatrathnam, Mr. Michael Dingake & Mr. Eddie Daniels.
If you would like more information about this project, please contact us on:
+ 27 (0) 788547929 (South Africa), +44 (0) 78`6 334 897 (United Kingdom) or visit our website.
The play will intertwine the Shakespearian text chosen by the political prisoners along with dialogue taken from interviews with them. It will use the stories behind the men’s choices as the backbone of the production which aims to inform and entertain a wide-reaching audience.
The project has gained the support of many prominent South Africans and international organisations including the South African High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ms Lindiwe Mabuza, Tony Award winning actor Dr. John Kani, British Council in South Africa and St. Mary’s University College in London. To date, we also have the support of three of the men who signed the ‘bible’: Mr. Venkatrathnam, Mr. Michael Dingake & Mr. Eddie Daniels.
If you would like more information about this project, please contact us on:
+ 27 (0) 788547929 (South Africa), +44 (0) 78`6 334 897 (United Kingdom) or visit our website.
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