From Vikram:
Although I was unable to go see the screening of Shakespeare Behind Bars, the topic reminded me of a This American Life podcast that I listened to a few years ago: Act V.
The hour-long podcast discusses the production of Act V of Hamlet at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. As all of the men acting in the play have committed murders, the actors have a unique perspective on what could be the bloodiest act written by Shakespeare. I believe this connects with what Edward Said's theory of using the past to help understand the present and vice versa. These inmates use their own experiences to portray these characters with ultimate honesty. And as you'll hear, through the reading and acting of this play, the inmates better understand what drove them to commit such murders and reconcile their negative actions.
If you don't have time to sit down and watch Shakespeare Behind Bars, this could be an easier platform to understand the topic of the documentary
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| "I have been studying how I may compare this prison where I live unto the world" Richard, Richard II |
Hamlet battles with Titus Andronicus for bloodiest final act. A mother eats her own children in Titus...The director of Shakespeare Behind Bars first staged Titus, before staging The Tempest. Interesting...
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