Hamlet

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

Cast and creative team

Cast

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

Creative Team

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

Previous performances

Previous Performances

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

Reviews

“Declan Donnellan’s production overlaps and intercuts scenes with a fascinating dexterity that appears to move the play at breakneck speed.”
City Limits

Production photo — Photograph: John Haynes

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

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Programme from Cheek by Jowl’s 1990 production of Hamlet

Cast

Creative Team

Previous Performances

Reviews

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

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Images

Images

Images

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