The Dukes Lancaster, Chipping Norton Theatre

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

Two men, unlikely friends, stagger through days of pointless prison work, living for nights of memories and imagined, 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 political defiance from people who have lost everything they have to lose. Just like Antigone herself.

With gut-wrenching emotion and exquisite, stripped down simplicity, this great drama of defiance and determination draws on the stories that linger from Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 27 years.

Illegal in its writing, astonishing in its impact, utterly relevant in its themes.

Suitable for ages 12 and over.