HAMLET
On Friday, March 20th, students from 6th Form and ESO 41 and 33 attended the performance of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s most popular and powerful tragedy, adapted for a young modern audience. They joined the Pocket Oxford actors who took their audience, and our tragic hero -Hamlet -on an hilarious journey of ghosts, betrayal, duels, poison and murder…. not forgetting Hamlet’s ventriloquist dummy and the famous shower curtain scene!
A tale of deception, revenge and madness – but with plenty of music, dressing up and dancing, what’s not to love? All told with the help of our pupils in the audience, of course!
What is Hamlet about? Summary -(the bones!)
Uncle kills Hamlet’s Dad.
Uncle marries Hamlet’s Mum.
Hamlet sees his Dad’s ghost.
Dad’s ghost tells Hamlet who killed him.
Hamlet takes revenge on Uncle.
Everyone dies.
Other modern revenge tragedies are
RoboCop (1987)
The Original Star Wars Trilogy
Batman (1989)
The Godfather Trilogy
Many other films are inspired by the plot of Hamlet, the most famous being Disney’s animated classic The Lion King (1994). The story borrows from the play ‘Hamlet’ -the evil uncle kills his brother and takes his throne leaving the young prince confused. ‘The Lion King’ “disneyfies” the play with songs, comedy, and a happy ending.
Disney borrows ideas from many sources and was very successful.
Shakespeare did the same thing in his day.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564. His parents were quite rich and he attended a school where he studied Greek and Latin. Aged 26, he married Anne Hathaway in 1582 and they had three children -one called Hamnet who is thought to have inspired ‘Hamlet’.
Shakespeare then moved to London to become a playwright and actor with the successful theatre company The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. Shakespeare stayed with the company until he retired in 1610
Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets (poems of 14 lines). His plays are grouped into three genres: comedy, tragedy and history plays. ‘Hamlet’ is a tragedy. Shakespeare retired to Stratford-upon-Avon where he died in 1616, aged 52.
Shakespeare was alive during the Elizabethan Era when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and supported theatre. Shakespeare is the greatest writer in the English language and the world’sgreatest playwright. He is often called ‘The Bard’, which means the poet.
