Shakespeare’s 'Cymbeline' gets a Sudanese makeover

Emerging from civil war and six months after the birth of South Sudan as an independent nation, it is a country still trying to define its culture and national identity, according to a CNN report.

They are calling on Shakespeare to speak his wisdom through the play Cymbeline that tells the story of the uncertainty of war between ancient Britain and ancient Rome. The King of Britain refuses to pay tribute to Rome. The Sudan Theater is making the connection between the conflict portrayed in the play and the crisis between North and South Sudan in which the “tribute” in their country is the fight over oil rights.

Sudan's real civil war between north and south raged for decades, claiming more than two million lives. But the director Ngbangu says theater survived those dark years of conflict.

"Theater has existed throughout the time of the civil war and difficulties," he said. "War never stopped people coming together through arts -- whether music or drama or dance," he added.

And he believes theater can help build South Sudan, celebrating the fledgling nation's cultural diversity and tolerance for all people.

"It is a very cheap art form compared to cinema and TV -- you can do it anywhere -- move it to the villages and contribute to their understanding of their environment, their struggles, you can do it in schools and teach young people how to do the right thing.

"Through theater we can send a lot of messages about unity, about respecting people, about coming together, about tolerance and civilization.

He added: "There is an old saying -- 'give me a theater and I will give you a nation.'"

As casting and rehearsals begin, Ngbangu is excited at the prospect of performing in London at the Globe Theatre this year.

"I have been to London several times. It is a land of theater, a land that produced a giant like Shakespeare," he told CNN.

"To be in London with a Shakespearean play, when we're a country that will be nine months old at the time, it's a great thing."