"The purpose of this essay is to share with you some of my observations and
experiences working with Shakespeare within a custodial setting. It is a
phenomenological discourse, referenced by direct comments from the
participants themselves, including a long interview with one of the men,
(Stephen), given as part requirement for his FETAC L 5 Certification in
Theatre Performance and Acting Skills and Techniques. These comments are
more revealing than anything I could offer, on the impact Shakespeare
had on our work within the prison.
O reason not the need! (King Lear 111. 4. 263)
Theatre does not sit easily within a pedagogical paradigm and perhaps this is
one reason why it is often sidelined as peripheral to need. Yet the need
it serves is perhaps the deepest need of all: the needs of the psyche;
those parts of our makeup that are less accessible, less visible, even
to ourselves. These needs are not always addressed in a curriculum which
privileges the rational and the logical over the irrational and the
illogical – the stuff of dreams, fantasies and nightmares, which inform
our conscious thoughts and decisions. The Shakespeare texts make the
invisible visible in a very direct and concrete way. Iago tells us his
most intimate thoughts, while he hides them from Othello. He plays out a
devious game in front of our eyes and we watch in awe and horror, as he
systematically sets out to destroy the beautiful and the loving. Hamlet
shares with us his deep introspections and we are with him and his
doubts and insecurities, as he tries to ‘figure it all out’."
Helen
Hunt, Drama Tutor, Wheatfield Prison, Ireland
This extract marks the opening paragraphs of Helen Hunt’s essay on ‘Working
with Shakespeare in an Irish Prison’. The
full text of this essay can be viewed by clicking the following link:
Helen Hunt has a background in Movement, Dance, Theatre in Education,
Literature and Psychology. She holds a Masters Degree in Theatre Studies
and worked for the CDVEC Education Service to Prisons.
Shakespeare's Othello, adapted by Helen, was staged in Wheatfield prison in
December, 2006. The production was given a modern setting and was very
well received. Helen has been involved in drama productions in
Wheatfield Education Unit since its beginnings in 1990 and Othello
represents one of a number of Shakespearean plays that she has
successfully adapted for use in prison. In 1998 she staged 'Shakespeare
Unplugged', through which people were introduced to Shakespeare's
language and in which five of his characters told their stories (in
part) to a ‘Therapist’. At the end of each performance the audience was
asked which character interested them most; which character's story
would they like to hear in full? The majority wanted to hear Othello’s
story. The story of a man brought to a jealous ‘rage beyond words' by
whisperings, innuendo and deceit, seemed to strike a chord amongst the
prison audience.
"However, the desire to explore Shakespeare's great text on this theme was one thing," says
Helen, "The actual decision to do it could only be taken when (and if)
we could find the right partners; the interpreters of the text; the
players. A variety of life experiences, some as dark as those enacted in
the play itself, came together to make this piece of theatre. The
presence of so many international students among those who attend the
Education Unit in Wheatfield made it possible for us to cast our
Othello."
One of the cast members described Helen as 'not the director of this production; she is its
soul.' and went on to say, "She believes that we all have it within us
to appreciate the real thing. Better yet, Helen has the ability to make
Shakespeare's writing accessible, without compromising it." Helen took a
varied cast of prisoners, a couple of wonderful professional female
actors and produced a stunning success.