Philomath Films

SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS follows an all-male Shakespeare company working behind bars at Kentucky's Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. For one year a cast comprised of convicted felons rehearse and perform a full production of Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest, a play fittingly about forgiveness. Marking their seventh year as an acting ensemble in the film, the inmates cast themselves according to their lives and in relation to the crimes for which they are serving a prison sentence. Just as in Shakespeare's day, men play all the female roles. They swear that the roles 'pick them' and this proves to be an uncanny truth, as many of the men experience powerful epiphanies while exploring their characters. Twice a week, the inmates work with volunteer director Curt Tofteland, who pushes them to find their own truth within each part. SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS is written and directed by Hank Rogerson and produced by Jilann Spitzmiller. Rogerson and Spitzmiller are a husband and wife team that has collaborated on projects for 15 years. Features commentary by prisoners, filmmakers, program founder, deleted scenes and more! "Shakespeare himself couldn't have written better or more complex characters, and far from strange, by the end of this extraordinary film you couldn't imagine Shakespeare performed anywhere else." - Ken Fox, TV Guide READ REVIEW "Perhaps it's just the inner drama geek talking, but there's something extremely compelling about seeing hardened felons preparing to put on a classic play with the enthusiasm of giddy schoolgirls." - Luke Y. Thompson, New Times