William
Shakespeare wrote some of the most unsavory characters in the history of
theater. Anyone who has studied his works knows that plays like Titus
Andronicus are far more shocking than nearly anything created today, and this is
why it makes sense that convicted felon would have the most to learn from
Shakespeare. As the theater group at Kentucky
The
theater program at Luther Luckett only does Shakespeare, which is appropriate
considering the roles were all played by men when they were first written, and
in the all-male prison there is no choice but to have men play the female
roles. The program is a privilege and it is difficult to watch inmates make a
mistake that causes them to lose the privilege to perform. The outcome for
those who remain in the group is a private performance for family, and a
separate performance for their fellow inmates. Each year they do one
Shakespeare play and Shakespeare Behind Bars is about their production of The
Tempest.
These
aren’t great actors, although they take themselves very seriously and the final
production is rather impressive considering it is in a prison. What makes the
documentary interesting isn’t the fact that they are good actors. It’s the fact
that an art form has saved and reformed many of these men, even the ones who
will never see the outside of a prison again. They are human and they make
mistakes, but their stories are fascinating and Shakespeare seems to be the
most positive thing in their lives.
The
DVD has an impressive prisoner commentary. I am impressed because of the fact
that it is included as a feature, although I’m not sure if it is as important
as the filmmaker commentary which is also included in the special features.
There are also deleted scenes, which I would have been fine skipping, and bonus
performance footage. Not only is theater boring to watch on tape, but as I
mentioned before, the film is good for other reasons that don’t necessarily
include the acting.
No comments:
Post a Comment