Abstract-Hamlet

Written by: William Shakespeare

Dramaturgy :Janni Younge, Roshina Ratnam

Music by: Daniel Eppel

Stage and puppet design: Janni Younge, Samkelo Zihlangu, Mandiseli Maseti, Julia Wojciechowska, Marissa Steenkamp

Directed by: Janni Younge

Director’s assistant: Roshina Ratman

Cast: Mongi Mthombeni, Siyamthanda Sinani, Roshina Ratnam, Samkelo Zihlangu, Timothy Redpath, Tshiamo Moretlwe, Beviol Swartz

A powerful new interpretation of Hamlet is brought to life through puppetry and physical performance. Younge’s Hamlet premiered at the National Arts Festival 2022 where it received outstanding reviews. Mongi Mtombeni and Siyamthanda Sinani play Hamlet, with Timothy Redpath as Claudius and Roshina Ratnam as Queen Gertrude. The ensemble cast bring the full cast of characters to life through larger than life puppets.

Commanded by the ghost of his father to avenge his death, Hamlet must grapple with the value of a life and what it means to ‘set things right.’ Caught between love and anger, immediate revenge and ultimate retribution, Hamlet fights to right his world shattered by murder.

The poetry and emotional magnitude of Shakespeare’s words are echoed in the scale and energy of the puppets. Gestural, evocative figures blend and reconfigure themselves as characters grapple with the depths of grief and passion. Hamlet’s internal struggles play out visibly in the puppetry, as each puppet is a ‘physical being’ supported by the ‘emotional being’ of the performers.

This is an intense, high-energy production is focussed on the heart of Hamlet’s personal conflict.