Hamlet The Clown Prince at Hackney Empire

Hamlet The Clown Prince by Cinematograph Productions, directed by Rajat Kapoor, at the Hackney Empire Theatre, in east London, from 23 to 26 March 2011.

'It's a comedy rather than a serious attempt at Shakespeare'. A group of clowns, four male and two female, attempt to put on their own production. In trying to understand it they sometimes misinterpret the text, sometimes make a mess of the order of things as if the pages of the script got mixed up, and sometimes confuse their own lives with their fictional characters. But through it all they are simply looking for the essence of Hamlet and trying to find a context for our own times. In doing so, they sometimes find new meaning.

Cinematograph Production is presented by NFA International Arts & Culture, Teamwork Productions and Hackney Empire.

Hamlet The Clown Prince opened in Mumbai at the Privthi Theatre in 2008 and won 5 Awards at the 2009 Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (the Indian equivalent of the Olivier Awards) including Best Play, Best Director Rajat Kapoor.

Prior to its London run the show will visit Northern Stage Newcastle 8 - 12 March, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry 16 - 19 March.