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HamletHamlet
Drama
Prague Shakespeare Company

Hamlet - Prague Shakespeare Company

Prague Shakespeare Company

The Estates Theatre
Prague Shakespeare Company

Basic information

Venue

The Estates Theatre

Ensemble

Prague Shakespeare Company

Approximate running time

1 hour 30 minutes, no intermission

Language

In English, surtitles in Czech

The Prague Shakespeare Company (PSC)

is a professional English-language theatre based out of Divadlo Kolowrat in Prague, Czech Republic. Focusing mainly on the plays of William Shakespeare, the mission of PSC is to bring to the Czech Republic, European and World audiences English-language performances, using a multi-national ensemble of theatre artists, that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking, and eminently accessible; connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today. Partners of the production are Kolowrat-Krakowsky family, the City of Prague, the British Embassy Prague, and Barrandov Studio a.s.

One man. Seventeen Characters. Ninety Minutes.

Cast

  • 2023-2024
  • 2024-2025

Creatives

Directed, Adapted and Performed
Guy Roberts
Realization
Eric Sammons
Light design
Přemysl Janda

About

In his tour-de-force one-man presentation of HAMLET, Guy Roberts presents unique insights into the mind of Shakespeare’s greatest and most famous creation. Using only Shakespeare’s words, in a conflated text that incorporates the First Folio (with additional aspects from the First and Second Quarto), the audience experiences the world of the play through Hamlet’s eyes – only seeing and hearing the scene and moments that the character Hamlet himself experiences in the play. Taking this singular journey with the Prince of Denmark, audiences will understand the actions, themes and motives of the play’s main character as never before. Whether seen as story of devastating human domestic passions or a suspenseful political mystery of intrigue, revenge and betrayal, the tragedy of Denmark’s “sweet prince” continues to challenge and inspire. Originally performed 10 years ago in Prague and on tour in Houston, TX USA (in association with Classical Theatre Company, JJ Johnston Artistic Director, who also co-directed the Houston version with Roberts), the production drew rave reviews. This new version builds on Roberts ten years of growth as an artist since the original production. PSC Artistic Director Guy Roberts starring as Hamlet, states, “People change, grow and develop, as does a cultures’ response to an artistic work. The world is very different today than it was ten years ago and so my Hamlet must likewise grow and change. It would be impossible and ill-advised to simply remount a decade old success. It is incredibly exciting for me to once again, after ten years, examine Hamlet the play and man. Perhaps what keeps Hamlet fresh and exciting is that these questions remain for each audience: why does not Hamlet immediately avenge his father’s murder? Is it the weight of the conscience ‘that doth make cowards of us all?’ What keeps us from acting on our basest and most immediate impulses—is it social convention or personal morality—or simply the fear of punishment? What keeps us alive when all forces point towards giving up and submitting to death—that ‘undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns?’ Is Hamlet a hero? Perhaps—but the ambiguity of his heroic nature is what keeps him so fascinating. Though the play contains as much intrigue (and possibly bloodshed) as many action movies, no hero—or villain—in history has embodied such a complexity of thought and emotion. In the end, Hamlet is an exciting and essential theatrical experience compelling audiences to decide for themselves whether he is philosopher, dilettante, hero, villain, lover, madman, fighter, victim or some fluid, ambiguous and contradictory combination of all of these.” Roberts stars and directs from his adaptation of the play. The production is approximately 90 minutes long without an interval. Guy Roberts Guy is the Founder and Artistic Director of Prague Shakespeare Company, the professional English-language theatre of the Czech Republic. Guy won the 2018 Houston Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance of The Poet in An Iliad. In 2016, under his leadership, PSC became the first theatre company in the world to present the entire newly accepted Shakespearean canon (41 plays including Sir Thomas More, Cardenio and Edward II as well as all the sonnets and poetical works) in a single year as part of the historic PSC400 Season. He is a 2015 recipient of the Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Medal of Honor from the Masaryk Democratic Movement in recognition for his work promoting arts and artistic freedom. In 2014 Guy received the inaugural Sidney Berger Award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association in recognition of his dedication to the works of William Shakespeare. His work as actor, director and producer has been seen in the United States, Czech Republic, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Qatar and Egypt and has been honored with multiple awards and over 100 US theatre award nominations for Best Actor, Director and Production. He was named “Honorary Houstonian” at the 2013 Houston Press Theatre Awards for his PSC touring productions in collaboration with Main Street Theater Company (MST). PSC/MST productions include Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night directed by Rebecca Greene Udden, Macbeth, Henry V (Houston Press Theatre Award and BroadwayWorld Houston Theatre Award for Best Director) and Richard III. He appeared as Michael Bakunin in Rebecca Greene Udden’s MST production of The Coast of Utopia. His recent PSC credits include Prague productions of: Amadeus (Estates Theatre), Richard III (at Prague Castle and the Estates Theater), The Winter’s Tale (Estates Theater), Macbeth (Estates Theater), As You Like It (Estates Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing, Venus in Fur, Twelfth Night, as well as PSC tours of Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing to the Library of Alexandria, Egypt and Patrick Doyle’s Music of Shakespeare with Patrick Doyle, James Shearman and Jessica Boone in Doha, Qatar and Orlando, Florida. His Much Ado serves as the basis for a Czech version, which he directed – and is still running at Divadlo Bez Zabradli in Prague. Guy is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, The Society of Stage Directors, The Society of American Fight Directors, and the Shakespeare Theatre Association

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Practical information

Where to buy tickets

The National Theatre sells tickets up to 6 months in advance. We are currently selling tickets for performances of Drama, Ballet, Opera and Laterna magika taking place in March-August 2024.


When purchasing online, you can get an e-ticket. You can pick up printed tickets in person at the box offices of the National Theatre.

What to wear?

By their appearance, attire and behaviour, the audience is obliged to adhere to the accustomed practice expected from them when attending a theatre performance.

Parking at the Estates Theatre

Unfortunately, there is no parking near The Estates Theater. You can use the guarded parking lot in the Kotva shopping center (Revoluční 1/655, Prague 1) and Paladium (Na Poříčí 1079 / 3a, Prague 1).

Buffets at the Estates Theater

No waiting. For your benefit, please pre-order your food and beverages at the bar to minimize waiting in the queue!

Menu (PDF, 60 kB)