Kings of Baxter
Jack Yabsley
| Australia
| 2017
| 66 min
Since 2010, the Bell Shakespeare Company has run an annual series of workshops at juvenile justice centres, aimed at helping young detainees build self-confidence and find their voice. Recently the company launched their most ambitious undertaking to date: a performance of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at the Frank Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre for Boys. With unprecedented access to the boys and the centre, this film explores life in detention and follows these young men over a 12-week workshop as they rehearse and perform a version of the classic for inmates, staff, friends, and family. Through their own interpretations of Macbeth, the boys are challenged to consider their own place in the world: their choices, circumstances, and future.
Director Jack Yabsley
Producer Claire Yvonne Evans
Premiere Australian Premiere
Section Australian Competition
Antenna Award Winner Best Australian Documentary
Festival Year 2017