Janni Younge’s innovative adaptation of Hamlet combines puppetry and physical theatre to tell the story of the Prince of Denmark in a new and distinctive way. After a work-in-progress staging at Cape Town’s Maynardville Open Air Theatre in March 2022, the production was launched at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in June. Following a successful run at the Chicago International Puppet Festival in January, it has now returned to Cape Town, where it will be at the Baxter Theatre from 22 February to 11 March.
The ensemble cast consists of Mongi Mtombeni and Siyamthanda Sinani (Hamlet), Timothy Redpath (Claudius), Roshina Ratnam (Gertrude), Samkelo Zihlangu, Tshiamo Moretlwe and Beviol Swartz. Directed and designed by Younge, with Ratman as assistant director, this Hamlet features lighting design by Lize-Marie van Rooyen and sound design and original music by Daniel Eppel.
It is billed as an “intense, high-energy production”: “The poetry and emotional weight of Shakespeare’s words are echoed in the scale and energy of the puppets. Non-verbal, evocative and ‘visually immersive’ figures blend and reconfigure themselves as characters grapple with the depths of passion and grief. Hamlet’s internal struggles play visibly in the puppetry, as each puppet is a ‘physical being’ supported by the ‘emotional being’ of the performers.”
Booking is through Webtickets online or at Pick n Pay stores. Ticket prices are R120 for the preview and R150 throughout with an Early Bird Special of R120 for the first week.