Hamlet to Question Existence on Costa Rica Stage.

Paul Stebbings and the TNT music theatre are coming to Costa Rica, and they’re bringing Hamlet with them. On September 19, the theatre company will begin its five-night run thanks to the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericana, promising a cultural evening of tragic entertainment.

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and beloved plays. It follows the story of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, whose father, King Hamlet, has recently died. The prince’s mother, Gertrude, has since married Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. One night, shortly after his father’s death, the castle sentinels convince Hamlet that they have seen the king’s ghost. When the ghost reappears, he tells Hamlet that it was Claudius who killed him. The late King Hamlet demands that his son exact revenge on his traitorous uncle.

Hamlet does not know if he should believe the ghost, and therefore chooses to reenact his father’s death in a play. He reasons that if Claudius is guilty of such an act, it will be evident by his behavior and reaction to the performance. When Claudius leaves the play abruptly, seemingly nervous and rattled by the accurate depiction of King Hamlet’s poisoning, the prince realizes his guilt. Claudius then banishes Hamlet to England, but not before Gertrude thinks her son crazy. The plot unfolds from the king’s death reenactment, and follows the lives of not just Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius, but those of several other minor, but important, characters. Each holds a piece of the Hamlet puzzle, and tragedy unfolds.

Hamlet is one of the most quoted works in the English language, and widely considered one of the best pieces ever written. Perhaps even more importantly, the play touches on all ranges of human emotion, including insanity. Audiences have long identified with its characters, sympathized with its events, and found catharsis in its conclusion. In addition, the play has been understood and interpreted in many different ways, analyzed according to its religious, philosophical, political, psychoanalytic, and feminist undertones. In all cases, Hamlet manages to cross cultural, time, and language barriers, allowing for the enjoyment of many over the centuries. The TNT production will be interpreted in English.

Paul Stebbings, artistic director of the The New Theatre (TNT), was born in Nottingham, England. He has worked for the Nottingham Playhouse, the South Yorkshire Theatre, the Paragon Ensemble of Glasgow, the Munich Trams Theatre, the St. Petersburg State Comedy Theatre, the Athens Concert Hall, and the Russian Teatre Experimenta. In 1980, Stebbings founded TNT, and the company has since toured more that twenty countries worldwide, sharing their love of theatre and artistic talent.

TNT’s production of Hamlet will take place September 19-21 in Los Yoses / San Pedro de Montes de Oca, at the Teatro Eugene O’Neill, and September 30-October 1 at the Teatro Dionisio in Barva de Heredia. Tickets are ¢10,000 adults, and ¢8,000 for students Living in Costa Rica with a valid student ID. Please call 2277-1750 for more details.

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Filed under: Cultural Events on September 11th, 2008