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A story of relationships, #fakenews and the struggle for power, set within the world of rebelling teenagers and the adults charged with their care, Dark Arcadia is the next installment in the Shakespeare Republic universe.

Celebrating the brilliance of the Bard - this is Shakespeare Republic. All the world's a stage.

Love and revenge over coffee and cakes. Eight Shakespeare characters. Five different plays. This is Speaking Daggers.

Using Shakespeare's original text and characters, we shine a light on the human experience in a COVID-19 world. Continuing the exploration of Shakespeare in the 21st century from the multi award-winning series, Shakespeare Republic (2015), this new stand-alone season of the work turns the lens on Shakespeare's characters in lock-down, featuring actors from Australia and around the world. Created, adapted and directed by Australian actor, Sally McLean, with the cast filming themselves in isolation, directed by Sally via Zoom from Melbourne, we look through a myriad of windows from Australia, Scotland, England and the USA into the current shared experience of human beings in isolation.

True story of artist turned world-renowned athletics coach - Franz Stampfl. Through interview, re-enactment and archive material this documentary shines a light on a hero of the sporting and motivational arenas - a man who inspired others to strive for excellence in their own lives and careers with wisdom, laughter and by the example of his own life experience. "Champion" tells the tale of one individual's extraordinary life - showing all of us that anyone, anywhere can do anything if they just dare to believe and are willing to try.

Focusing on the struggle of Unbelievable Productions' visionary leader, Madeleine LaRoy to stage a revolutionary reboot of Shakespeare's Macbeth (in space), with the help of her faithful best friend/choreographer/costume & set designer/tea lady/everything else, Deirdre Snowflake Fleckman, drama school graduate Scott Johnson and alcoholic veteran of the stage Desmond Darke - 'Why Must The Show Go On?' is a gritty, no-holds-barred with tongue-firmly-in-cheek look at life in front of the footlights ... in all its painful glory.

The pandemic separated many of us, not just via lockdowns, but also with state border closures, in an effort to contain the spread early on. With lockdowns now over and the border to Queensland finally open to Victorians, Julia can't wait to surprise her fiancé who has been working in Brisbane for the last few months in a legal firm, by turning up in person at his work. Donning a wig and glasses just for fun, she has finally seen him in person - only to discover that he didn't recognise her at all in the disguise and even confided in her (thinking she was a new intern) that he is romantically chasing the boss's daughter with a view to advancement to Partner as a result. Julia is finally admitting to herself that she's felt something has been wrong for a while - and to top it off, this other woman is really lovely and not actually interested in her fiancé at all, which brings about bigger questions about whether this is a relationship Julia should be pursuing at all. Has the pandemic changed him, or was he always this way? And what does she do now?

What do you do when being in close quarters with others for months on end has begun to shift the dynamics in the relationships around you and suddenly you are the subject of unexpected and inexplicable attention from a surprising quarter? Luciana is about to find out that while the lockdowns may have ceased, the conflict within her household is just beginning.

As many of us try to find a way through the pandemic, tensions and previous injustices begin to come to light as those who have been quietly pivoting and often thriving during this time discover we have a power of resilience that others do not seem to have. As Shylock is about to discover - with any power comes responsibility and we all have a choice in how we respond to those who have injured us in the past, but need our help now. Can we protect our personal boundaries without being cruel? Can the divides we now find ourselves facing be healed? Will compassion win, or will revenge? The choice, as always, is up to us.

The protections put in place to keep us safe before and during vaccine roll outs caused mixed reactions. Some embraced their inner introvert, others craved company. Many struggled, some thrived. But once the world began re-emerging, some of us took longer to adjust, or didn't want to go back to "normal". As Portia is about to find out, we all have different coping techniques for crisis, some have discovered that they want the world to embrace change and health isn't always about the physical.

As the world re-emerged and we began to return to the "new normal", many of us couldn't wait to get back to the lives they missed - going out, dancing, meeting people face-to-face. But after so long away from each other, were we a bit rusty with this in person world? A bit more blunt in our views? A bit less able to read the room? Phebe is discovering that interacting with strangers, especially attractive ones, post-isolation, comes with it's own set of rules that don't quite match up to the before times; where what might have been read as playing "hard-to-get" in the past could now just be someone being honestly not interested now.

What do you do when the leader of your organisation has become drunk on their own perceived success during this time of global crisis, but you know that really its a house of cards that will collapse under scrutiny because they are weak and not fit to rule? Cassius is about to utilise every one of his wits to save the ship before Caesar takes everyone down with him on the other side of the pandemic, but as with anything, he needs to tread carefully.

Extended periods of interrupted routine can bring about sudden perspective changes. What do you do when your trusted life partner announces out of the blue that they are not going to do something that you've banked your shared future on? Lady Macbeth is going to need all her persuasive powers to bring her now errant husband back around to their shared plan that he is now wavering on with a newfound attack of conscience.

As we return to the workplace with a renewed sense of purpose and self, what do we do when dealing with those who want things to go back to the way they were, rather than embracing progress and a new way of doing things that the pandemic has shown us? Goneril is about to find her voice and drag Lear Inc. into the future (and hold onto their employees), regardless of what her father thinks, says or does. But it won't be easy shaking the company loose from the old way of doing things .

While many wish to just "get back to life" there are just as many who are struggling to re-emerge from the safety of their homes, with the pandemic far from over. Add to that those who are also dealing with the mental health issues the pandemic has brought to light and we have another problem entirely. Being faced by our mortality on such a large scale, as well as the veneer of control in our lives being ripped away, brings up a lot of feelings, as Hamlet is discovering .

The pandemic has refocused many things for us across the globe - not least our sense of what's fair and right. There have been increased calls for our institutions and governments to do the right thing and to own up when they don't and whistle-blowers are appearing more and more to hold large entities to account. But it's not always smooth sailing to stand up on your own for what you believe, as Joan is about to find out .

With so many of us staying permanently in our homes during the pandemic, it meant that some of us began to realise we were under the control of those we live with more than we might have previously noticed. Sylvia has realised that her father has far too much say in her life and he has finally crossed the line with the insistence that she abandon Valentine, whom she met just before lockdown, and instead get hitched to the awful guy he's picked out for her, who she can't stand. Now that lockdowns have lifted, Sylvia is wasting no time to claim back her life, but she might need some help to do so .

At a time when fuses are short and tempers high, altercations can kick off without warning, especially during a night out. After many months being away from not just our friends, but also our foes, coming back into direct contact with those we would normally try to avoid (and successfully did, due to lockdowns) can have dire consequences - as Romeo, to his horror, has discovered.

There are many forms of control in our world - some put in place for our, and the wider community's, good and some for completely different reasons. After months of being under the watchful eye of her family, and having always been a "good" girl who follows the rules, her parents are sure that Juliet will do whatever they tell her to. What they don't know is that she's been secretly seeing Romeo (against public stay at home orders), the son of their most hated rivals and has gone as far as secretly marrying him. With her wedding to the man her parents want her to marry happening tomorrow, Juliet can no longer give the appearance of following the rules, do nothing and hope it all works out. The time has come for drastic action .

With the end of lockdowns and the directive to "get back to normal" from authorities, our lives suddenly went from zero to one hundred before we'd had time to get out of our ugg boots and put on our outside shoes. Laertes has to return to his studies at university and if he's honest, he's not that upset to leave the confines of his father's house for the first time in months. But then, there's his little sister Ophelia. The local rich kid, Hamlet, has been showing far too much interest in her. Hamlet's nice enough, but a bit of a lad and not in control of his future, which is already mapped out for him. Laertes father is too busy salivating at the thought of Ophelia marrying into money, but Laertes knows that's highly unlikely to happen. Now that Laertes is leaving, who will look out for Ophelia and keep her safe?

It takes a lot to speak truth to power. Which is why so many of us avoid it, or don't do it in a direct way. But the pandemic changed that for some of us. Paulina can no longer stay silent or diplomatic. Her best friend, Hermione, has died and Hermione's husband - Paulina's boss and one of the most powerful men in the land - through his jealousy and subsequent actions is to blame. Having been unable to help while lockdowns kept the worst of it behind closed doors, now that she knows the truth, Paulina is prepared to yell from the rooftops the list of crimes this man has committed. It is time to hold the mirror up to those who have avoided looking at themselves too closely and force them to stare into their own hearts - no matter the price.

Being in lockdown with people can sometimes bring about a false sense of intimacy - particularly when it is in a house-share or flat-share situation. Graduating Medical student and hobby artist, Helena, always thought her housemate Bertram was cute, but after months of stay at home orders, spending nearly every waking moment together, she's fallen head-over-heels for him. And she thought, even though nothing was particularly said or done, that he might feel the same way. But as soon as the lockdown was lifted, Bertram announced he was moving out and threw a big party in celebration. This heartache, on top of the passing of her father, finishing her studies via remote learning, the prospect of beginning work on the front lines and living with the general anxiety that pervades everywhere, is just too much. She might be smart as a whip and normally rational, but she's also human .