Media Release
Josh McConville
Hamlet
Director: Damien Ryan
With
Josh McConville, Matilda Ridgway, Sean O’Shea, Doris Younane, Ivan Donato, Michael Wahr, Philip Dodd, Robin
Goldsworthy, Julia Ohannessian and Catherine Terracini
“You would pluck out the heart of my mystery”
Act 3, Scene 2
Off the back of directing the critically acclaimed, award
winning Henry V for Bell Shakespeare in 2014, Damien
Ryan will deliver a new production of Hamlet, one of
Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.
Hamlet is a detailed family portrait in the political
landscape of a “rotten” Denmark, a country furiously
preparing for war, not realising that the enemy lies within.
Hamlet is a young man cast in an unfamiliar role in a story
he never expected to tell. Deeply saddened by the sudden
death of his father, he is further shocked to find his mother
quickly remarried to his uncle, the dead kings brother.
Haunted by his mother’s perceived crime, Hamlet is a mass
of contradictions and a modern anti-hero. He is at once
vulgar, misogynist and cruel while being overwhelmed by
insecurities and indecision. He stands before us and speaks
the truth, confronting us with just how fragile our ideals
of family, love, community, loyalty, faithfulness and the
courage to ‘act’ can be.
Damien Ryan said, “Hamlet is one of the most complete
experiences theatre can provide – extraordinary poetry,
intense passion, dazzling intelligence, terror, casual
slaughter, friendship, humanity, great humour and great
grief. Shakespeare casts his spell through the sheer scope
and grandeur of this story - beginning with a dead man
walking and ending with a stage littered with bodies.”
The production offers a giant window to the inner
machinations of Elsinore; a place where nothing and no one
is ever safe from the prying, eavesdropping, awareness of
others; an environment under insidious surveillance and
secret tyranny.
Hamlet will tour to 28 centres around Australia from July
2015.
Media enquiries: Jane Davis National Publicist | P: 02 8298 9063 | M: +61 411 562 131 | E: [email protected]
Media Release
Director Damien Ryan
Orange Civic Theatre 10–11 July
Designer Alicia Clements
Arts Centre Melbourne 14-25 July
Lighting Designer Matt Cox
Her Majesty’s Ballarat 27–28 July
Composer & Sound Designer Steve Francis
Whitehorse Performing Arts Centre,
Nunawading 29–30 July
Fight Director & Assistant Director Nigel Poulton
Mildura Arts Centre 1 August
Hamlet Josh Mcconville
Ophelia Matilda Ridgway
Claudius/Ghost Sean O’shea
Gertrude Doris Younane
Horatio Ivan Donato
Laertes/Francisco/Guildenstern Michael Wahr
Polonius/Gravedigger/Norwegian Captain Philip Dodd
Reynaldo/Rosencrantz/Priest/Osric Robin Goldsworthy
Marcellus/Voltemand/Player Queen/Norwegian Soldier
Julia Ohannessian
Bernardo/Cornelia/Player King/Fortinbras
Catherine Terracini
Albany Entertainment Centre 6 August
Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre 8 August
State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, Perth 12–15
August
Newcastle Civic Theatre 21–22 August
Laycock Street Theatre, Gosford 24 August
Glasshouse, Port Macquarie 26–27 August
NORPA, Lismore 29–31 August
Empire Theatre, Toowoomba 2 September
Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton 4 September
Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre 7
September
Riverway Arts Centre, Townsville 9 September
Darwin Entertainment Centre 12–14 September
Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs 17 September
Princess Theatre, Launceston 22 September
Theatre Royal, Hobart 24–26 September
West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul 29 September
The Capital, Bendigo 1 October
Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool 3 October
Frankston Arts Centre 6 October
Griffith Regional Theatre 8 October
Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre 10 October
Canberra Theatre Centre 13-24 October
Sydney Opera House 27 October – 6 December
Media enquiries: Jane Davis National Publicist | P: 02 8298 9063 | M: +61 411 562 131 | E: [email protected]