Act V

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Since 1999, a group of inmates at a high-security prison outside St. Louis have been performing Shakespeare's Hamlet for fellow inmates and outside visitors. Hamlet may seem an odd match for a group of hardened criminals, but they understand him on a level most of us might not. It's a play about murder and its consequences, performed by murderers, living out the consequences. Due to prison logistics they can't stage the whole four-hour play at once, so they've been performing it serially, one act every six months. In this week's show, we follow the cast for half a year, as they rehearse and stage the last and bloodiest act: Act V.

Learn more or listen again to this week's episode.

Credits

Host:

Ira Glass