APPLETON, WIS. — The Lawrence University Theatre Department will present Actors from the London Stage, a touring ensemble of five professional actors, in four performances of Shakespeare’s Hamlet during their weeklong residency at Lawrence University. Performances will take place at 8:00 p.m. September 26-29 in Cloak Theatre, located in the Music-Drama Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students and are available at the Lawrence University Box Office or by phone at 920-832-6749 beginning Sept. 25.
Hamlet, written between 1600 and 1602, depicts Prince Hamlet’s struggle with two opposing forces, moral integrity and the need to avenge his father’s murder. Having been summoned home to Denmark from school in Germany after his father’s death, Prince Hamlet is shocked to find his mother already remarried to Claudius, the dead king’s brother, who has also had himself crowned King despite the fact that Hamlet was his father’s heir to the throne. Hamlet suspects foul play.
When his father’s ghost visits the castle, Hamlet’s suspicions of murdered are confirmed as the ghost urges Hamlet to revenge his death. Unsure if the ghost speaks the truth or if the ghost is the devil taking on his father’s appearance, Hamlet finds himself more confused than ever. In order to test the ghost’s sincerity, Hamlet enlists the help of a troupe of actors to perform a play called The Murder of Gonzago to which Hamlet has added some scenes that recreate the murder the ghost described. Claudius’ reaction to the staged murder reveals his guilt and Hamlet resolves to kill him. However, in his continued reluctance to kill Claudius, Hamlet actually causes six ancillary deaths. Who will live and who will die in this famous tragedy?
The residency at Lawrence University of Actors from the London Stage, five British Shakespearean artists from such companies as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, among others, is an educational program developed by Homer Swander in 1975 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The theatre company is now based in London, England, and at the University of Notre Dame. The artists are devoting a large part of their time at Lawrence to lectures, workshops, seminars, and informal meetings with students. Their stay provides students and faculty with a unique opportunity both to observe extraordinary performances and to discuss the literature and the art of theatre in depth with some of the most talented artists from some of the most important theatre companies in the world.
