HAMLET by William Shakespeare will be staged by the Department of Drama and Theatre, School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.
This acclaimed Shakespeare play promises to be an innovative production in “black and white” with a three-dimensional traverse stage and audience participation.
It attempts to challenge classic presentations of Shakespeare’s plays by encouraging the audience to spontaneously react during the performance.
Traditional musical instruments, elements of Malay “poisons and charms” and interpretations of the Malay psyche, are incorporated.
The play is about Prince Hamlet who seeks to avenge his father’s death but he is contemplative and melancholic by nature and wrestles with his own hatred.
In this production, Raqib Karim, a well-known actor in Penang’s theatre scene, plays Hamlet and Samuel Low is Claudius.
Both began acting in Penang Free School and have since been seen in stage productions of Penang Players, School of the Arts and Penang Performing Arts Centre.
Female leads Ophelia and Gertrude are played by Julia Claire Holloway and Tan Seoh Chen respectively. Others in the cast include Danial Arjunaidi as Polonius and USM drama lecturer and choreographer Mumtaz Begum as Laertes.
Director Dr A.S.Hardy says this is his most challenging production with a highly talented cast.
He says Hamlet is a tragedy of the psyche of humankind which is bent on destroying the world and regrets it too late.
Hamlet
When: Dec 12-14, 11am, 3pm, 5pm and 8.30pm.
Where: Penang Performing Arts Centre (PenangPaC), Straits Quay, Tanjung Tokong, Penang.
Tickets: RM38 and RM25.
Details at www.penangpac.org/content/display/article/site:penangpac-param:william_s...