Hamlet (oder die Mausefalle)

YOUNG ACTORS AND ACTRESSES

Ages 14 and up
Based on William Shakespeare, adapted by Joanna Praml and Dorle Trachternach

The world is in turmoil! Hamlet, the young Prince of Denmark, is just about to set out into the world when he is haunted by his father’s ghost and tasked with avenging his death. Hamlet is nearly crushed by this task and, almost incidentally, plunges his family, friends, and the entire kingdom into ruin. Together with Shakespeare’s most famous anti-hero, ten young people confront the challenges the world has in store for them. They encounter the ghost of Hamlet’s dead father, attempt to bring the truth to light through a play within a play, and repeatedly grapple with the sheer power of the overwhelming material. They become entangled in contradictions and sword fights, ask themselves questions about meaning, and in the end, time and again, find themselves face to face with their own selves. To be or not to be? Director Joanna Praml, whose energetic and moving reinterpretations have been staged at many theaters in Germany and Switzerland, presents a contemporary adaptation with young actors and actresses that opens up new perspectives on the classic material.