Venkatrathnam who still owns the book has, to this day, refused numerous offers from people wanting to buy the priceless piece of history that is the 'Robben Island Bible'.Filming Shakespeare isn’t particularly easy, and keeping it interesting for a majority of the viewing audience is even more difficult. It seems to me most strange that men should fear Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.' Of all the wonders that I yet have heard. The passage which spoke to Mandela and signed M, December 16th 1977 was from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar ' Cowards die many times before their deaths The valiant never taste of death but once. They now offer us an insight into how the words of Shakespeare resonated with these men who were imprisoned for campaigning for an equal South Africa. The book was signed a total of 32 times by prisoners, who highlighted passages and quotes that they found meaningful and profound. The 'Bible' was passed between inmates during the 1970's, all of whom treasured the book and each signed their favourite passages with initials and a date. He explained to the warden that it was his 'Bible' by William Shakespeare.' The God fearing wardens who could not understand the text written in Shakespearean English let him keep the book. He was allowed in to get this misplaced Bible and instead grabbed his copy of The Complete Works. Quick thinking Venkatrathnam answered that he had left it in the storeroom. In a sheer stroke of luck, one Sunday during the weekly prayer service, one of the guards ordered Sonny to go and get his Bible. Unfortunately as the environment in the prison worsened, the book was taken away from Venkatrathnam by prison guards and locked in a storeroom. Being a former English student he chose The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. The copy of the book, known as 'The Robben Island Bible' first made its way on to the island with political prisoner Sonny Venkatrathnam, who could only own one book during his imprisonment. However it was a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, in particular a passage from Julius Caesar, that spoke to Mandela during one of the darkest times in his life – his imprisonment on Robben Island for his part in the uprising against Apartheid in South Africa. They come from different historical times, different countries and different cultures. You could be forgiven for thinking that William Shakespeare and Nelson Mandela, have absolutely nothing in common. Jude Owusu - Cinna the Poet/Dancer/Anthony's Servant/Coffin bearer/SoldierĮwart James Walters - Caius Ligarius/ LepidusĮugene Washington - Cicero/Lucilius/Popilius/DancerĬhinna Wodu - Cinna the Conspirator/Citizen/Clitus Creatives Ivanno Jeremiah - Octavius/Cobbler/Dancer/CitizenĮmilyne Mondo - Caesar's Servant/Dancer/CitizenĬhike Okonkwo - Metellus Cimber/Messala/Soldier/Coffin bearer Marcus Griffiths - Marullus/Octavius' Servant/Pindarus/Publius/Coffin bearer Mark Ebulue - Artemidorus/Carpenter/Cato/Dancer/CitizenĪndrew French - Decius Brutus/Titinius/Coffin bearer Segun Akingbola - Trebonius/Flavius/Varro/Citizen This World Shakespeare Festival production played in the Royal Shakespeare Festival, Stratford-upon-Avon, from June to July 2012, before touring the UK and moving on to Moscow, New York and Ohio. The cast included Paterson Joseph as Brutus, Cyril Nri as Cassius, Ray Fearon as Mark Antony and Jeffery Kissoon as Caesar.
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