Details

The text has rarely been performed since the original script turned up in a broom cupboard in 1823, but the publication last year of Professor Zachary Lesser's sensational book, Hamlet after Q1, overturned the whole notion of the 'bad quarto'. This production aims to embody that spirit, revealing the first Hamlet as a clear, high pace and exciting piece of drama. It also aims to communicate passion for the mysterious questions about the first Hamlet. Why is it that the most famous speech in the English language was originally printed as: To be, or not to be; ay, there's the point. To die, to sleep: is that all? Ay, all. No, to sleep, to dream; ay marry, there it goes. Not only that (detractors of a certain Mr Cumberbatch take note), it also comes at a different point in the play; just one of many dramatic changes that make the 1603 version utterly thrilling in its own right. The manuscript seems to have been transcribed by an actor playing Marcellus with the King's Men in the early 17th century, but the mystery remains; who was this intriguing adaptor? Is the front page right that this version was performed by Shakespeare's company in London, Oxford and Cambridge? And does his adaptation reveal a genius that was totally different from the Bard's, but no less spectacular?

Cast/Performers

Nicholas Limm (Hamlet), Pauline Munro

Creatives/Company

Company: Illissos Theatre
Director: Charles Ward