Shakespeare Behind Bars - Trailer

Shakespeare Behind Bars
Trailer

Shakespeare Behind Bars is about an all-male Shakespearean theatre company composed of convicted felons doing hard time. The film follows a group of men enrolled in a theatre program at the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Kentucky.

Over the span of a year, the cameras follow this cast of convicted felons as they rehearse and perform a full production of The Tempest under the direction of Curt Tofteland. Marking their seventh year as an acting ensemble, the inmates cast themselves in relation to their crimes and as a result, murderers play murderers, and thieves play thieves. The inmates delve into personal experience to bring these Shakespearean characters to life. Ultimately, the film explores the universal themes of redemption, transformation and forgiveness.

Shakespeare Behind Bars premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and has won awards at many festivals including the Special Jury Prize at the Independent Film Festival of Boston. The film's current theatrical run has garnered high marks from the critics: "remarkable" (New York Times), "uplifting" (NY Daily News), and "an immensely moving tribute to the power of art" (The Seattle Times). The DVD also contains over 45 minutes of bonus material, including deleted scenes, prisoner updates, and bonus performance footage. Three full length audio commentaries provide insight from the filmmakers (Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller of Philomath Films), program founder/artistic director, and four of the murderers, fugitives and thieves (and worse) who participated in the program.