Hamlet

Synopsis

Written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness - from overwhelming grief to seething rage - and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Our Review:

20 December 2012

Deep within Waterloo Station, way past the point you think you've gone too far, The Network Theatre resides. The address can't be can’t be found on Google Maps or GPS and even my London cabbie didn’t know the road (I highly recommend a reccy). This almost secret, almost underground location feels like the perfect place to stage Hamlet , a play about dark conspiracies and hidden agendas. I was almost disappointed no one asked me for a password at the box office.

The Bedouin Shakespeare Company is a new venture founded by UAE ex-pats Edward Andrews and Mark Brewer and endorsed by the likes of Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance. Its aim is to bring Shakespeare to the UAE and although Hamlet has not been dumbed down for a foreign audience, the clarity of the storytelling is notable.

Edward Andrews is a mercurial Hamlet, skilfully playing abrupt changes in mood and tempo. He morphs effortlessly from elegant playboy to petulant schoolboy and ...

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Latest User Review

Lisa Isaacson - 29 November 2012:

The performance at Zayed University was excellent. The actors captured the imagination of the audience and the nuances of the language with original interpretation of character. I have seen many performances of this play and have taught it for years and was deeply moved and was impreesed by this performance above all others. I found myself hearing the beauty of certain lines as though for the first time. ...

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