Shakespeare's Lessons in Prisons: The Impact of Mickey B and Shakespeare Behind Bars Marine Bruno College

Much of Shakespeare’s work revolves around forgiveness, redemption, crime, or freedom, making it the perfect canvas for inmates to pour their feelings into. Working with directors allows them to be seen as valuable, capable individuals rather than as prisoners, which develops their confidence and the skills they will need if rehabilitated into society. Two specific examples, Mickey B and Shakespeare Behind Bars, used Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Tempest, respectively, and changed some inmates’ lives around by giving them hope and a sense of purpose.

With the growth and development of programs in which directors go to prisons to work with inmates on Shakespeare’s work, vital skills to societal re-engagement are being taught to prisoners. The Shakespeare in Prisons Network describes these fundamental skills as literacy, teamwork, self-confidence, purpose, and hope; as we learned during our in-class discussion about jail time, it can cause a loss of self-esteem and optimism, so these programs can help to reinstate those skills and feelings. In 2013, Shakespeare at Notre Dame hosted its first “Shakespeare in Prisons Conference,” where the directors of Mickey B and Shakespeare Behind Bars showed their movies and had panels to talk...