Hamlet
The play is set in Elsinore Castle in Denmark - a country under threat from its neighbour and old enemy, Norway.
Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover that his father is dead, and his mother, Gertrude, has married Old Hamlet's brother, Claudius, and that Claudius is now king.
Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him accusing Claudius of his murder and urging Hamlet to revenge.
No longer able to trust his own senses, the loyalty of his old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, or even the affections of his young love, Ophelia, Hamlet fakes madness in an attempt to provide himself with proof that the ghost is telling the truth. Aided only by his most loyal companion, Horatio, he persuades a travelling band of actors to re-enact the story of his father's murder in front of Claudius and Gertrude, hoping that Claudius will confess his crime.
During an intense meeting with his mother, Hamlet hears a noise and realises that they are being spied upon. In rage, he stabs the hidden eavesdropper, believing it to be Claudius. Instead he discovers it is Polonius, Ophelia's father.
Afraid of what Hamlet might do next, Claudius has him arrested and despatched to England under guard, where he has arranged to have Hamlet murdered. Hamlet escapes, returns to Denmark and finally achieves his revenge.
Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover that his father is dead, and his mother, Gertrude, has married Old Hamlet's brother, Claudius, and that Claudius is now king.
Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him accusing Claudius of his murder and urging Hamlet to revenge.
No longer able to trust his own senses, the loyalty of his old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, or even the affections of his young love, Ophelia, Hamlet fakes madness in an attempt to provide himself with proof that the ghost is telling the truth. Aided only by his most loyal companion, Horatio, he persuades a travelling band of actors to re-enact the story of his father's murder in front of Claudius and Gertrude, hoping that Claudius will confess his crime.
During an intense meeting with his mother, Hamlet hears a noise and realises that they are being spied upon. In rage, he stabs the hidden eavesdropper, believing it to be Claudius. Instead he discovers it is Polonius, Ophelia's father.
Afraid of what Hamlet might do next, Claudius has him arrested and despatched to England under guard, where he has arranged to have Hamlet murdered. Hamlet escapes, returns to Denmark and finally achieves his revenge.