HAMLET | FANTÔMES

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare is perhaps one of the most well-known works in the theatrical repertoire worldwide. This play serves as a point of reference when “time is out of joint” or “when the past demands vengeance and the future, a choice,” as Kirill Serebrennikov puts it. For this production at the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Russian director and filmmaker has taken a bold, radical approach: Hamlet is portrayed by several actors, splitting and multiplying, delivering his lines in multiple languages — English, Russian, German, and French. Shakespeare’s play inspired Kirill Serebrennikov to create a show in which Hamlet is confronted with himself, his time, and the audience: “Hamlet as violence. Hamlet as myth. Hamlet as diagnosis. Hamlet as rhizome. Hamlet as phobia. Hamlet as memory.”

Adapted for musical theatre — that is, with a performative approach blending text and music in all possible combinations — Hamlet is accompanied by the Ensemble intercontemporain, conducted alternately by Pierre Bleuse and Yalda Zamani. The orchestra will perform music by Blaise Ubaldini, composed specifically for a large ensemble (thirty musicians) including drums and electric bass, an electronic synthesiser, and a vocal trio.

“This play, which I have titled Hamlet/Fantômes, was composed in response to the proposal to stage Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In a certain way, I found myself in the very skin of the Danish prince, who, bound by the Ghost’s solemn injunction — “Remember me” — is compelled to do what he would never have thought possible, and which ultimately leads him into madness. We, children of European culture, are so steeped in Hamletism that the shadows of this story have become our dark nature, and the black attire of the prince of Denmark - our second skin. Our lives are made of memes on the theme of Hamlet, he himself having become a meme — and the theater has nothing to do with it. We live in a world of concave mirrors which, like a camera obscura, project the inverted images of art into real life. We are the engendering of madness. We are Hamlet’s shadows. His ghosts. That is why this play is about us”. 

Kirill Serebrennikov 

 

Language: French, English, German, Russian (surtitled in French and English)


Production by the Théâtre du Châtelet in coproduction with 
KIRILL & FRIENDS Company



*Photo by © Vahid Amanpour, Thomas Amouroux, Frol Podlesnyi