'I can remember watching the fairly terrible A Midsummer Night's Dream film with Kevin Kline and Calista Flockhart in it. We were watching that in the classroom and one of the kids actually put his hand up and said, "So, is Shakespeare in this movie?"'
Is Shakespeare in this Movie? is an ode to the English teacher – a verbatim play that celebrates the complex work of teaching and the power of imagination to transform lives.
Four teachers reflect upon their professional journeys, the emotional struggles they face working in schools, as well as the challenges and joys of working with students.
Is Shakespeare in this movie? weaves some rough magic, conjuring Shakespearean characters and transporting audiences from the classroom into places dark, strange, and filled with wonder.
DAVID WILLIAMS (Writer & Director) is a Melbourne-based theatre artist who crafts evocative performances from found materials such as interviews, archives, and transcripts of public inquiries. His recent works include Quiet Faith, built from conversations with Christians about religion and public life, Grace Under Pressure (co-written with Paul Dwyer), based on interviews with doctors and nurses about hospital workplace cultures, and Smurf In Wanderland, about football fandom and geographic belonging. Grand Theft Theatre, his collaboration with Pony Cam, was awarded Best Theatre, 2022 Melbourne Fringe, and played at the 2024 Adelaide Festival. Sincere Apologies, his collaboration with Dan Koop & Jamie Lewis, based on an original concept by David Williams & Roslyn Oades, premiered in May 2025 and is touring globally. SMALLER, his latest solo work, will premiere in late 2026.
He holds a PhD from UNSW, was the Curator of ATF2015, a winner of the Marten Bequest Traveling Scholarship for Acting (1998), a graduate of the Australia Council’s Emerging Leaders Development Program (2011), and a member of the 2015 Griffin Studio. His works have won Helpmann, Green Room and Drovers’ Awards. He was the founder and artistic leader of the performance group version 1.0, and co-created and produced all the company’s work from 1998-2012, including CMI (A Certain Maritime Incident), The Wages Of Spin, This Kind Of Ruckus, The Disappearances Project, and The Bougainville Photoplay Project. Other work includes: researcher on Black Diggers (QTC & Sydney Festival), codirector on The Tender Age (ATYP), dramaturg/co-devisor on Beautiful One Day (Ilbijerri & Belvoir), co-director on In This Fairfield (PYT), and co-director/dramaturg on A Sri Lankan Tamil Asylum Seeker’s Story... (Merrigong Theatre Company).
| Cast Info | 2F, 2M |
| Genres | Drama, Verbatim / close work theatre |
| Themes | Full length play |
| Audiences | Secondary: Years 7-10, Secondary: Years 11-12, Young Adult, Adult |
| Extent | 54 |
| Edition | CTS |
| Size | 137 x 210 mm |