The Island
By Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona. Directed by John Terry.

In South Africa it was forbidden to mention that The Island existed. It was a place here
you put the people you wanted to forget.

Two men, unlikely friends, stagger through days of crippling prison work, breaking free in nights of playful escapism and ecstatic, dreamlike joy. With just scraps from their cell, they prepare for a performance of Antigone in front of the prisoners and guards – an act of defiance from people who have lost everything they have to lose.

With gut-wrenching emotion, soaring beauty and exquisite simplicity, this great drama of defiance and determination draws on the stories that linger from Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner.

The Island will be performed in an intimate, in-the-round setting.

Post Show Talk

A unique panel discussion and Q & A on issues surrounding this extraordinary modern classic. Featuring three renowned Oxford University Professors – Elleke Boehmer, a biographer of Mandela, whose research focus is on resistance and literature in sub-Saharan Africa, amongst other areas, and Oliver Taplin and Fiona Macintosh, experts on ancient Greek theatre and its remakings and receptions in modern times. They will be joined on stage by members of The Island’s cast and crew.
Date: 9 May 2017, 19:30 (Tuesday, 3rd week, Trinity 2017)
Venue: Pegasus Theatre
Speakers: Professor Elleke Boehmer (University of Oxford), Professor Oliver Taplin (University of Oxford), Professor Fiona Macintosh (University of Oxford)
Organising department: The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)
Organiser contact email address: info@pegasustheatre.org.uk
Part of: Humanities & Identities
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: http://pegasustheatre.org.uk/?post_type=shows&p=10420
Cost: £13, £9 concessions, £6 under 18s
Audience: Public
Editor: Anne Bowtell