Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover the world-shattering news that, not only is his father (Old Hamlet) newly dead, but that his mother, Gertrude, has married Old Hamlet's brother, Claudius, and that Claudius is now king.
Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him, accusing Claudius of his murder and urging Hamlet to take revenge.
No longer able to trust his own senses, the loyalty of his old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, or even the affections of his young love, Ophelia, Hamlet fakes madness in an attempt to provide himself with proof that the ghost is telling the truth. He persuades a travelling band of actors to re-enact the story of his father's murder in front of Claudius and Gertrude, hoping that Claudius will be so stirred by remorse that he will confess his crime.
During an intense meeting with his mother, Hamlet hears a noise and realises that they are being spied upon. In rage, he stabs the hidden eavesdropper, believing it to be Claudius. Instead his discovers it is the King's adviser, Polonius, father to both Ophelia and her brother, Laertes. Polonius dies.
Afraid of what Hamlet might do next, Claudius has him arrested and despatched to England under guard, where he has arranged to have Hamlet murdered.
Ophelia, having been violently rejected by Hamlet, hears that her father has been murdered. She loses her mind and eventually drowns herself.
Her brother, Laertes, returns to court determined to find out the truth. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is the only guilty party and, on learning that Hamlet has escaped and returned home, persuades Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a fencing match using a poisoned sword (with some poisoned wine as a back-up plan).
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What a great pleasure and privilege to work on Hamlet. What an extraordinary play. Any other playwright would have hung up their pen after creating such a thing, but this was just one of many that year for Shakespeare. Within a few years of his son Hamnet’s death, this pops out. This masterpiece. It covers just about everything. The deepest, most universal deep-dive into what it is to be human. What it is to crawl between heaven and earth. Covering everything from what makes good acting to how best to behave in society to the decomposition of the human body to Social Influencers (I kid you not) to the darkest, deepest, most profound question of whether or not to be.
It’s also remarkable how relevant this play still is. For this generation especially. A young man paralysed by too many voices. Too many thoughts. Terrified of being on the wrong side of the argument. Unsure as to how to behave or what to think. Unseen, unheard and totally, profoundly misunderstood.
I have found it sad and funny and moving and cruel and the most life affirming piece of writing I have ever read. NOW I see why everyone goes on about it. And I hope you will too.
And, if proof was ever needed, here are a group young people from all over the world who have found resonance and relevance and affinity with words written over 400 years before their birth. And, with relative ease, have been able to embody the people who speak them. What an extraordinary play. And what a great pleasure and privilege to work on it.
The show will be performed the following dates:
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