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Hamlet (International) assertion single work   drama  
Alternative title: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
This international work is included in AustLit to identify a relationship with Australian literature.
Issue Details: First known date: 1600... 1600 Hamlet
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Hamlet is a tragedy, set in Denmark. The ghost of Hamlet's father, the King, calls on him to seek revenge on Hamlet's Uncle, who is accused of murdering the King.

Exhibitions

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Adaptations

y separately published work icon Hamlet, 16 Errol Bray , Carlton : Shopfront Theatre for Young People , 1979 Z812036 1979 single work drama children's
y separately published work icon Hamlet : A Novel John Marsden , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2008 Z1514013 2008 single work novel young adult

'Hamlet's father has just died. By the time they've filled in the grave his mother has remarried. Hamlet suspects foul play, and it's troubling his spirit. Or maybe he was always troubled. Ophelia is in love with him. His best friend Horatio can't work him out. Then, on a cold, still night, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father...' (Publisher's blurb)

y separately published work icon Hamlet Nicki Greenberg , Nicki Greenberg (illustrator), Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2010 Z1727925 2010 single work graphic novel young adult

'Denmark is in turmoil. The palace is seething with treachery, suspicion and intrigue. On a mission to avenge his father's murder, Prince Hamlet tries to claw free of the moral decay all around him. But in the ever-deepening nest of plots, of plays within plays, nothing is what it seems. Doubt and betrayal torment the Prince until he is propelled into a spiral of unstoppable violence.

'In this sumptuous staging of Shakespeare's enigmatic play on the page, Nicki Greenberg has created an extraordinary visual feast that sweeps up all in its path as the drama intensifies both on stage and off.' (From the publisher's website.)

form Besterman Damien Broderick , 2012 single work radio play science fiction
— Appears in: Restore Point : Scripts for Radio and Film 2012;

'What if Hamlet were not Prince of Denmark but Lord Besterman, scion of the Director of the Recombinant Engineering Cartel on asteroid Pallas? What if Besterman's uncle Feng slew his father by hurling him into a black hole? What if Ratio, a robot from Earth, visits the small world to thwart the murderous conflict that could explode across the worlds? And what of Folly, an Ophelia with iron in her soul? Reinventing Shakespeare is a bold gamble, but Broderick is the writer to carry it off in style.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Hamlet : Prince of Skidmark The Tragedy of Hamlet : Prince of Skidmark : A Badaptation of the Bard Declan Greene , Richard Higgins , Matt Kelly , 2016 single work drama children's

'An hour-long comedy bomb of Shakespeare plus ninjas. And zombies.

'The Listies are the maestros of children’s theatre. Their tremendous storytelling, comedic genius and infectious imaginations make kids all over the world fall in love with theatre while howling with laughter.

'Now, they have created a new, very cheeky, interactive version of Hamlet for children. This comic adventure shatters the fourth wall and glues it back together with turbo-charged story-telling and silliness.

'Hamlet is full of thrilling things that kids love in a good story: ghosts, castles, sword fights, fake blood and spooky stuff. Enter super-sonic gags, expertly timed stage trickery and special effects unlike anything kids have seen before and you have a very cleverly disguised Shakespearean tragedy for everyone aged five and over.

'And that’s not all… expect bonus pillow fights, pirates, ninjas, ninja pirates, aliens, ninja pirate aliens, zombies and a bunch of other hilarious stuff as The Listies take kids and their adults on a fun-filled hour of mayhem that mischievously celebrates the excitement and unpredictable nature of live theatre.

'The only thing we can be sure of is that everyone dies at the end – including the audience! ' (Production summary)

Because the Night Kamarra Bell-Wykes , Ra Chapman , Matthew Lutton , 2021 single work drama

'Something is unfolding here in Elsinore. For weeks the strikes have been intensifying—but there’s a new mood tonight as Carnival approaches. There’s a vivid sense of an era ending—a new age opening up. The timber workers feel it… and the royals too. Inside the palace there are whispers… the King’s death, the grinning Queen, the agitated Prince… And the ancient forest is wild again, groaning—restless... It seems to me that everything is part of a broader picture—that no matter where you look, it will tell the whole wicked story.

'In a landmark production of unmissable storytelling, Malthouse Theatre launches an immersive theatre work on a scale never seen before in Australia. An entire world has been constructed for you to explore: follow the royals through the palace, roam the length of a town on the cusp of the digital age, or sift through the drawers of a single desk. Whatever you choose, a story will play out around you of a regime on the edge of collapse. You are a silent witness in the halls of power on a pivotal night in history. Move, venture deeper, listen closely, because the night will soon be lostand all its secrets with it.

'Because The Night is an immersive theatre show. The show is experienced by moving through the world of Elsinore as the story plays out around you.

'The actors cannot 'see' you, and will never touch or talk to you. You are a silent witness to the story.

'Enter the sprawling world of Elsinore from one of three entrance rooms: the Bedroom, the Gymnasium, or the Royal Office. The story commences with different characters' perspectives before you are invited to explore the expanse that awaits you.

'Follow the characters as their stories intersect, or go off the beaten track to discover the secrets of the town. Every choice you make is the right choice, for whatever path you take will uncover the mysteries of Because The Night.

'If you are experiencing Because The Night as a group, it is recommended you start at different entrances. Whether you choose to explore together, or split up to discover the world alone, your journey is yours to take as you wish.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

Haml3t Laura Charlton , Sabina Donato , 2022 single work drama

'I am walking amongst the dead, and they love me for I am one of them.

'King Hamlet is dead. Claudius is king. Hamlet is for the first time meeting themselves, like a reflection in the undercurrent of a river. There's a red light in the forest, voices on the wind, the taste of a narrative decaying. You are here at the end of all things. The sun is setting. The river is swelling. This story won't die.

'Horatio is desperate for a happier ending, and when they find themselves in a strange, stitched-together timeline with three bickering Hamlets, they think they might have an opportunity to rewrite their world into something softer. Tragedy, however, has a power of its own, and if there's any story that knows how to survive, it's a Shakespeare.

'Exploring the legacies of love, violence, and storytelling, this new work from a group of emerging student artists opens up radical new possibilities in the realm of adapting Shakespeare. Multi-disciplinary and experimental, this is a production unafraid to look you in the eye and ask: why are you still sitting there, when you already know they're all going to die?'

Source: Melbourne Fringe.

Notes

  • William Shakespeare's Hamlet is included in AustLit because it was produced in Australian theatres during the colonial era; and/or is the subject of Australian literary comment, adaptation or creative writing.

Production Details

  • Probably first produced in London, July 1602.

  • Performed at the Prince of Wales Opera House, Sydney, February 1868.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: ca. 1600

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Hamlet is Not OK R. A. Spratt , Melbourne : Penguin , 2023 26029272 2023 single work novel young adult

'Funny, shocking and brilliant- from bestselling author R. A. Spratt, a whip-smart take on Shakespearean moral dilemmas

'Selby hates homework.

'She would rather watch daytime television - anything to escape the tedium of school, her parents' bookshop and small-town busybodies.

'So Selby didn't plan to read Hamlet. She certainly never planned to meet him.

'This novel transports Selby, and the reader, into the cold and crime-ridden play itself. Here she meets Hamlet- heavy with grief, the young prince is overthinking and over everything. Selby can relate. But unlike Hamlet, Selby isn't afraid of making decisions. In her world, Selby is used to feeling overlooked. But in the bloody, backstabbing world of Shakespeare, Selby's good conscience and quiet courage might just save some lives . . . hopefully before Hamlet stabs one of her classmates.'(Publication summary)

Words, Words, Words i "She read Hamlet aloud: every word", Liz McQuilkin , 2019 single work poetry
— Appears in: Quadrant , December vol. 63 no. 12 2019; (p. 23)
Hamlet at the Modern University i "What botch is this? My gracious mother’s bed", Robert DiNapoli , 2017 single work poetry
— Appears in: Arena Magazine , April no. 147 2017; (p. 39)
Anti-Hamlet Mark Wilson , 2016 single work drama

'Hamlet is a body without organs. A privileged ingrate, a serial procrastinator, and above all: a desiring machine.

'His dad's dead, his mother wants a grandchild and his therapist is the father of psychoanalysis. And as the monarchy teeters on the edge of destruction, a new leader has taken the stage with visions of a prosperous Denmark committed to freedom, the individual and the market. Stuck in a cycle of self-obsession and serial procrastination, will the weight of History itself be enough to make Hamlet wake up, grow and stand up?

'There's never been a better time to be a Dane.' (Production summary)

The Disintegration of the Persistence of Hamlet Anna Douglass , 2015 single work prose
— Appears in: Colloquy : Text Theory Critique , November no. 30 2015;
Theatre Royal - 'Hamlet' 1891 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 3 December 1891; (p. 6)

— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama
A review of Walter Bentley's Australian theatrical debut in the role of Hamlet, Theatre Royal, Melbourne, 1 December 1891.
Mr. Montgomery's Hamlet 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Empire , 8 February no. 5061 1868; (p. 5)

— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama

A review of the 7 February 1868 Prince of Wales Opera House production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. In praising Walter Montgomery's performance, the reviewer says, 'we esteem him to be the best illustrator of Hamlet we have ever seen'.

Royal Victoria Theatre 1868 single work review
— Appears in: The Empire , 12 May no. 5141 1868; (p. 2)

— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama

Brief review on the Royal Victoria Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet on 11 May 1868 in which the American actor James Stark played the role of Hamlet.

Royal Victoria Theatre 1838 single work review
— Appears in: Commercial Journal and Advertiser , 31 October vol. 4 no. 315 1838; (p. 2)

— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama ; Bachelors' Buttons Edward Stirling , 1837 single work drama
The Theatre William Kerr , 1838 single work review
— Appears in: Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser , 30 October vol. 36 no. 4090 1838; (p. 2)

— Review of Hamlet William Shakespeare , 1600 single work drama ; Bachelors' Buttons Edward Stirling , 1837 single work drama
How a Monarch Died 1885 single work prose humour
— Appears in: The Australian Journal , January vol. 20 no. 236 1885; (p. 277)
Theatrical anecdote of the actor Macredy and a memorable death in Hamlet.
Ophelia's Song i "A fool and his lady", Carol Cohn , 1980 single work poetry
— Appears in: Galloping On : A Selection from the 1979 Grand National Poetry Stakes 1980; (p. 28) Artlook , February vol. 6 no. 2 1980; (p. 31) The Finishing Post : The Winners from the Grand National Poetry Stakes 1979-2002 2003; (p. 55-56)
Dotty Mr Hamlet : Bobby J's Pocket Shakespeare Den , 1934 single work short story
— Appears in: The Herald , 12 May no. 17781 1934; (p. 6)
Hamlet: Messiah or Naughty Boy John Marsden , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 5 July 2008; (p. 17)
To Adapt, or Not to Adapt? Heath Graham (interviewer), 2008 single work interview
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , August vol. 88 no. 2 2008; (p. 14)
Last amended 19 Nov 2018 15:29:47
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