Shakespeare’s
political and historical works may make schoolchildren the world over go
cross-eyed, but the leaders of Africa found in his
rhetoric the inspiration to get through the most harrowing moments
of their lives, and inspire legends which carry the stories on into artworks of
their own.
Thabo
Mbeki became enthralled by Shakespeare when he was at Sussex University, and
has since quoted him at every opportunity. When Nelson Mandela celebrated his
80th birthday in 1998, just before stepping down as President, Mbeki made a
speech speculating about how Madiba would retire to the country, quoting from King
Lear:
‘To tell
old tales, and laugh
At gilded
butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of
court news’
J
ulius
Caesar has
probably the most impact on Africa. Its original translation into Swahili by
the first democratic President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, marked a shift in
white-dominated education. The role of the Bard continued to be strongly
political in South Africa, resonating with an oppressed people realising their
potential against authority.
The story
of the ‘Robben Island Bible’ is a
fantastic example of the imagined and real histories recreated by Shakespeare
taking flight in the minds of the political prisoners of South Africa. Nelson
Mandela, alongside similarly segregated prisoners Ahmed ‘Kathy’ Kathrada,
Walter Sisulu, Eddie Daniels, Michael Dingake, Kwede Mkalipi, Theo Cholo, and
Andrew Mlangeni, would gather together and recite long passages of Shakespeare. Another
prisoner, Sonny Venkatrathnam, kept a copy of The Complete Works disguised as a
religious text in his cell. Known as the ‘Robben Island Bible’ because of this,
he eventually passed it to each of his friends, asking them to sign a passage
that meant a lot to them.
Julius
Caesar remained
the favourite, and Madiba himself chose the lines below, which he signed and
dated 16 December 1977. The words exemplify Caesar’s, and his, fearless
leadership:
‘Cowards
die many times before their deaths
The
valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all
the wonders that I have heard,
It seems
to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing
that death, a necessary end,
Will come
when it will come.’
These
moments were immortalised in a play by London-based playwright Matthew Hahn, The
Robben Island Bible. When asked why he still thinks Shakespeare is
relevant, he referred to the inmates, who he interviewed extensively to write
and produce the play. “They were all still quoting Shakespeare,” he said, “And
Andrew Mlangeni was saying that it is still relevant after 400 years.”
When
asked why, Matthew said, “There is a universal appeal to Shakespeare: the plays
can be adapted and performed in a number of different settings.” Themes such as
love, betrayal, political competition, leadership and fidelity, “these are
themes that never go away” believes Matthew.
Matthew’s
play is being staged at the London Literary Festival at London’s Southbank
Centre on Tuesday 3 July while the original ’The Robben Island Bible’ can
be seen in the exhibit ‘Staging the World’ at the British Museum from 19 July.
