• Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Our revels now are ended … for the moment … Season One Wrap Up …

    Our revels now are ended. These our actors, As I foretold you, were all spirits and Are melted into air, into thin air: And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep. William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act IV Sc 1 What a ride it’s been! As the dust settles on our final episode for Season One, we’d like to take a moment to say…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t” … the making of Episode Two – Rowena Hutson as Hamlet

    Join us for a peek behind the curtain as we show you some behind the scenes fun and games from Rowena Hutson’s episode for Season One of Shakespeare Republic. The challenges of working with water and electrical equipment, the intricacies of bubble bath wrangling and our Director of Photography’s realisation that Shakespeare is still being quoted, albeit unconsciously – all this and more in this behind the scenes look at what goes on off camera and off script.  Special shout out to the newest member of the team, Charlie Johnston, for his brilliant behind-the-scenes filming work and Samantha Barrett Brown for allowing us to take over her bathroom AND taking…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Celebrating The Bard

    CELEBRATING THE BARD: Rowena Hutson on playing Hamlet

    We have mused on The Bard and now that Season One is airing, we are Celebrating The Bard!  This is a series where we asked each of our ensemble members to write down some background on why they wanted to do the piece they did, how they feel it relates to modern life, what challenges and/or choices they faced and why and any other information that would be of interest to you, the audience.  Director, Sally McLean, also shares some thoughts on the process from her perspective to give views from both sides of the camera.  Each “Celebrating The Bard” piece will be published the Friday after the ensemble member’s episode has aired.…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates,  Team,  Video

    Do you have a favourite Shakespeare play? Would you play Shakespeare nude? Hear from our cast on this and more during the Shakespeare Republic Season One Launch!

    Welcome to a big week for Shakespeare Republic!  This week we finally begin screening the series after many months of planning and hard work from all the cast and crew and we couldn’t be more excited! Further to our post about our fabulous launch event held last week at the lovely Courthouse Hotel in North Melbourne, we can also finally release the full video filmed by the talented Paul Anthony Nelson of Cinema Viscera and hosted by Special Guest, Shane Savage from, among other things, Australian Web TV phenomenon, Chris & Josh The Webseries where he plays “Chris” as well as co-writing and co-producing (really, it’s so exciting to see how well…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Musing On The Bard: Rowena Hutson On Shakespeare

    As part of our Musing On The Bard series, we sat down with each of our ensemble members to find out what their thoughts are on Shakespeare, the challenges they face when working with Shakespeare text and any other thoughts they might like to share with you and us as they embark on this journey into our new Republic. Our third video in the series focuses on Republic member, Rowena Hutson, who shares her feelings on playing Shakespeare, the language and how she feels about the Bard in general.  You’ll also see a cameo appearance from Alan Fletcher, who managed to turn getting everyone coffee during the shoot into an ode to the…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Project Updates

    Updates: Rowena Hutson, five crew and a rubber duck … it must be our second day of filming!

    As a rather chilly and very blustery Queen’s birthday Monday dawned, it found myself and several members of our extended Republic making our way down to the Mornington Peninsula for the second day of shooting. In a very beautiful bathroom, kindly provided by long time friend, Samantha Brown (we were around 5 years old when we first met. Who knew back then that one day I’d be filming Shakespeare in her bathroom!?), our crew gathered around to film Shakespeare Republic ensemble member Rowena Hutson – and a rubber duck.  As you can see, a bath was involved, so that does somewhat explain the rubber duck – but you’ll have to wait until the episode…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Cast Interviews: Shakespeare In Three Words

    We asked the ensemble of Shakespeare Republic to describe what Shakespeare means to them in three words. Their answers were honest, inspiring and surprising – and all different. So what does Shakespeare mean to you?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. To ensure you don’t miss anything, feel free to sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or subscribe to our Youtube channel. Shakespeare Republic … all the world’s a stage!

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Cast Interviews: What Was Your First Encounter With Shakespeare?

    We sat down with the ensemble of Shakespeare Republic to hear their responses to the question: “What was your first encounter with Shakespeare?”.  Their answers range from the insightful to the surprising with a few laughs thrown in for good measure, which we think many will relate to. And it got us thinking – how did you first encounter Shakespeare?  How did you feel about that encounter?  What were your first impressions?  Did that change?  We’d love to hear from you about how you first met the Bard, so feel free to leave your comments below to become part of the conversation and share your story of your first Shakespeare encounter. To…

  • Behind The Scenes,  Video

    VIDEO: Behind The Scenes: What Is Shakespeare Republic?

    When Shakespeare Republic Director, Sally McLean, first floated the idea of putting together a series that explored Shakespeare from an actor’s perspective through performance, with a few yet-to-be-revealed twists, little did she know that a few short months later she would be laughing herself silly on the banks of the Yarra with friends and fellow collaborators, Michala Banas, Alan Fletcher, Rowena Hutson, Billy Smedley and Ben Steel, plus getting to work again with friend and Director of Photography for her earlier films, Yanni Dellaportas.  And if she had known, she would have thought of the idea a LOT sooner! Luckily we thought to bring a few cameras along on the day…