“Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes,” the character Lady Anne tells Richard in William Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” While Richard might be a scary individual, are the adaptations of the props and the play also meant to scare? Shouldst thou be punished for the misuse of props to recreate the drama of the theme of the play?
Shakespeare in the Schools from Bozeman, Montana, returned to PHS, made possible for more than 25 years by the Park County Arts Council. But after the play on October 22, 2025, debate arose as parents sent emails regarding props used on the set. These included an upside-down cross and a “No Kings” reference.
But these weren’t intentionally used for the wrong reasons.
“The images in that moment were intended to further illustrate the evilness of Richard’s deception,” Montana Shakespeare in the Parks associate artistic director Riley O’Toole said. “Especially as he is using ‘props of Christian virtue’ in that moment in the play to deceive the citizens of London into supporting him.”
Even though the TV monitors depicting the questionable symbols brought a hot debate, they brought more life to the show. Some really enjoyed this year’s performance as it was more interactive and engaging.
“I enjoyed the play a lot,” freshman Jaylynn Bradshaw said. “My favorite scene was the fighting scene where the soon-to-be king fought the tyranny of King Richard III.”
Shakespeare in the Schools brought energy from Montana to Wyoming and encouraged the students to interact with the actors. It brought the actors great joy to see the audience engaged with Powell High School students. During the fighting scene, both actors and audience brought an energy and strength as they rooted for either King Richard or Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond.
“I thought the actors did a great job interacting with the audience,” history and English teacher Mrs.Tracy McArthur said. “I think our school is very fortunate to be able to offer our students a professional production every fall. Park County Arts Council does a great job bringing the arts to our schools.”
PHS also holds workshops with the actors after the play has concluded. The workshops are for those students who sign up to attend and want to learn more about the process of producing the play.
“I learned that making eye contact is a way of knowing whether you’re ready or not to perform,” Bradshaw said.
Even though this year’s performance brought about heated discussion, the play itself was enjoyable to the actors and the audience. PHS is excited to see next year’s performers and performances. Will Shakespeare in the schools bring about hot topics again? The Duke of Buckingham said it well: “An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told.”
