Polish inmates go free to perform Shakespeare
Worldwide, Daily news | ankakh | April 10, 2013 12:39For a Shakespeare play with a twist, a Polish arts troupe cast inmates alongside professional actors in an effort to engage those on the sidelines of society.
The six men, whose crimes range from theft to battery resulting in death, performed their adaptation of the bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Warsaw’s posh Polish Theatre last weekend.
“We never thought it would really come to this,” said Szymon Semeniuk, 33, who plays Demetrius and is serving a three-year term.
“Because us, thieves from jail, on stage? Really?” he said, citing initial concerns that other inmates and the public would make a laughing stock of them.
“But after the premiere, we grew a little taller, and we now feel pretty confident up there.”
The men were bussed over from their high-security prison in the eastern town of Opole Lubelskie for the show, part of a programme between the jail and the Zapaleni.org arts troupe.
“I want people to see that these are normal guys who are able to do something and can be likeable. That they can give something of themselves, not just take,” said Dariusz Jez, 47, the group’s founder and a professional actor.
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