About Series 2

LOVERS AND MADMEN

After an acclaimed first series in 2021, inVerse returns for a second collection of six contemporary short films. As 2023 is the 400th anniversary of the first publication of Shakespeare’s plays, series 2 is based entirely on extracts from his work, voiced by an all-star cast and filmed in places as diverse as the Ukrainian war zone and the edge of space.

Themes explored in the films range from the war in Ukraine and the impact of COVID, to social justice protests and the European refugee crisis. With uncanny parallels between our lives now, and life in 1623, the films demonstrate that Shakespeare’s words have never been more relevant as we find ourselves moving from pandemic to global conflict, and that our experiences of loss, joy, grief and compassion remain the same.

Jack Jewers, Director

“Taken as a body of work, these films are about connection. They’re about the fact that we are more connected than ever, and that our experiences are more similar than we could ever have imagined. Wherever we’re from in the world, whatever our background, we share the same hopes and dreams and fears and joys.

And yet division remains. Battles are still being fought on all fronts, international, domestic, internal. We lose sight of the power of connection, of how important it is to revel in our togetherness and stand united. I can’t solve those problems with these films. But I do believe they can be part of a greater body of art which works to remind the world that there is more that unites us than divides us. That we are – and we should be – one people.”