Humble Hamlet The Maskers Theatre, Emsworth Road, Shirley (From Daily Echo)
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Humble Hamlet The Maskers Theatre, Emsworth Road, Shirley
in Curtain Call
HOW do you distill the essence of not one but two plays into a ten minute piece of theatre?
This challenge faced the local writers invited to produce such a play exploring the links between Shakespeare’s tragedy and Charlotte Jones’ comedy Humble Boy.
The answer, as the five shortlisted plays eloquently attested, differed considerably with the playwright. From the raucous and rude play that cast Hamlet as a darts player, to pantomime, to more subtle treatments that cleverly emeshed the two source plays, each reflected a very individual response.
The performances of the readers, for which they deserve great credit, brought this material vividly to life.
The play will be a companion piece to the forthcoming production of Humble Boy and the favourite was voted by the audience at the reading. And the winner...? You will have to go along in October to see.
KAREN ROBSON
