Hamlet
Written by William Shakespeare
Performed in English
1990–1991
Night-time on the battlements of Elsinore Castle. The ghost of old king Hamlet appears before the guardsmen. Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius, has married Hamlet’s widowed mother, the ‘most seeming-virtuous queen,’ Gertrude. Claudius is now king of Denmark. The ghost tells Hamlet that he is his father’s spirit, and is ‘doom’d for a certain term to walk the night,’ until his son can avenge his ‘foul and most unnatural murder.’
Perhaps Shakespeare’s greatest play, and described by Laurence Olivier as ‘the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind,’ Hamlet encapsulates the vast literary themes of mortality, corruption and revenge. With some of the most famous lines in the English language, Hamlet tells of a young prince who is tortured by his father’s death and his own inability to be moved into action, and charts his dangerous voyage of murder and madness in the corrupt court ruled by his murderous uncle…
Produced by Cheek by Jowl. The first performance of Hamlet was at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds on 4th September 1990.
“Declan Donnellan’s production overlaps and intercuts scenes with a fascinating dexterity that appears to move the play at breakneck speed.”
City Limits
Name | Character |
---|---|
Malcolm Scates | Barnado / Guildernstern / Priest |
Peter Moreton | Francisco / Reynalso / Player Queen / Fortinbras |
Patrick Miller | Marcellus / Rosencrantz |
Duncan Duff | Horatio |
Daniel Thorndike | Hamlet’s Ghost / Player King / 2nd Gravedigger |
Scott Cherry | Claudius |
Jason Morell | Voltemand / Captain / Messenger / Osric |
Peter de Jersy | Laertes |
Peter Needham | Polonius / 1st Gravedigger |
Timothy Walker | Hamlet |
Natasha Parry | Gertrude |
Cathryn Bradshaw | Ophelia |
Role | Name |
---|---|
Director | Declan Donnellan |
Designer | Nick Ormerod |
Composer / Musical Director | Paddy Cunneen |
Movement Director | Jane Gibson |
Lighting Designers | Judith Greenwood & Nick Fisher |
Fight Director | John Waller |
Company Stage Manager | Louise Yeomans |
Deputy Stage Manager | Martin Lloyd Evans |
Assistant Stage Manager | Paul Clay |
Wardrobe Manager | Blossom Beale |
Wardrobe Supervisor | Angie Burns |
Date | Location |
---|---|
27–31 January 1991 | Hong Kong, Lee Theatre, Hong Kong |
18–20 January 1991 | Athens, Athens College Theatre, Greece |
12–14 January 1991 | Thessaloniki, Ex Royal Theatre, Greece |
19 November–13 December 1990 | London, Lyric Theatre, UK |
13–17 November 1990 | Horsham, Arts Centre, UK |
6–10 November 1990 | Taunton, Brewhouse Theatre, UK |
30 October–3 November 1990 | Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre, UK |
23–27 October 1990 | Bracknell, Wilde Theatre, UK |
16–20 October 1990 | Windsor, Theatre Royal, UK |
10–11 October 1990 | Kyoto, Fumin Hall, Japan |
27 September–7 October 1990 | Tokyo, Globe Theatre, Japan |
18–22 September 1990 | Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Theatre, UK |
11–15 September 1990 | Basildon, Townsgate Theatre, UK |
4–8 September 1990 | Bury St Edmunds, Theatre Royal, UK |
“Declan Donnellan’s production overlaps and intercuts scenes with a fascinating dexterity that appears to move the play at breakneck speed.”
City Limits