Few plays have a history as long and rich as Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The story of a court in crisis, a young man at a crossroads, ghosts, swordplay, betrayal and madness, it has captured the interest of audiences for more than 400 years. This dynamic classic is as famous as a play can be, and yet each encounter with it can reveal something new. We hope the activities in this guide will help you as you experience this complex and profound work, whether for the first time or the hundredth.

Note from the Artistic Director:

I’m delighted to welcome you to Hamlet, the final play of McCarter’s 2004-05 season. Many of us come to Shakespeare’s plays, and to Hamlet in particular, with decades of theatrical tradition associated with them. How many times have we heard Hamlet’s famous soliloquies pedantically intoned, or seen Elsinore conjured up through looming battlements and royal robes? Daniel Fish’s vision of Hamlet, on the other hand, excites me because he invites us to look at the play as if it were brand new. With a company of eight actors—whose double- casting is a means of storytelling—and a nearly bare stage, he strips the play down so that artists and audiences can hear and see it in a new way. The opportunity to experience Hamlet in this intimate and spontaneous way will, I hope, allow us all an invigorating interior view of this endlessly fascinating play.

- Emily Mann
Artistic Director
McCarter Theatre