When teacher, critic, theatre maker, anthologist, author, editor, publisher and Shakespeare ZA contributor Robin Malan passed away in 2024, he left behind a significant Shakespearean legacy. This includes the one-person play Lord Hamlet, which was first performed by Ashraf Johaardien and published by Malan’s Junkets Press in 2010.
Carlo Daniels
The play has morphed into various iterations since then. Johaardien performed a version that was renamed iHamlet and went on to tour internationally. Numerous performers have taken on the solo role, including Australian Melissa Dunphy, whose interpretation made the link to iPhones (and Siri) more emphatic.
Now the play is making a return to South Africa in an emphatically local way, with I Lord Hamlet starring Carlo Daniels being staged at the Woordfees in Stellenbosch in the first half of October. Here is the billing:
One actor, many roles. Carlo Daniels draws on Robin Malan’s compilation, reimagining Hamlet’s spiritual and practical struggles as a series of raw, intimate vignettes. Grounded in the contemporary Cape Flats and parts of Cape Town, the production becomes a vital, shared space where the trauma of collective colonial legacy is also directly confronted. The piece illuminates the crushing identity crisis of a still-marginalised community, transforming Hamlet’s personal quest into a collective journey towards healing.
I Lord Hamlet is directed by Jason Jacobs and produced by Teaterboem. Choreography is by Darion Adams, music by Jannous Aukema and stage management by Kenan Fortuin.
Performances at HMS Bloemhof school hall:
4th October (10:00)
9th October (18:30)
11th October (13:30)
Tickets can be purchased from Quicket.