Cirrus@Austlit

'Hamlet's father has just died. By the time they've filled in the grave his mother has remarried. Hamlet suspects foul play, and it's troubling his spirit. Or maybe he was always troubled. Ophelia is in love with him. His best friend Horatio can't work him out. Then, on a cold, still night, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father...' (Publisher's blurb)

'Denmark is in turmoil. The palace is seething with treachery, suspicion and intrigue. On a mission to avenge his father's murder, Prince Hamlet tries to claw free of the moral decay all around him. But in the ever-deepening nest of plots, of plays within plays, nothing is what it seems. Doubt and betrayal torment the Prince until he is propelled into a spiral of unstoppable violence.

'In this sumptuous staging of Shakespeare's enigmatic play on the page, Nicki Greenberg has created an extraordinary visual feast that sweeps up all in its path as the drama intensifies both on stage and off.' (From the publisher's website.)

'What if Hamlet were not Prince of Denmark but Lord Besterman, scion of the Director of the Recombinant Engineering Cartel on asteroid Pallas? What if Besterman's uncle Feng slew his father by hurling him into a black hole? What if Ratio, a robot from Earth, visits the small world to thwart the murderous conflict that could explode across the worlds? And what of Folly, an Ophelia with iron in her soul? Reinventing Shakespeare is a bold gamble, but Broderick is the writer to carry it off in style.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'An hour-long comedy bomb of Shakespeare plus ninjas. And zombies.

'The Listies are the maestros of children’s theatre. Their tremendous storytelling, comedic genius and infectious imaginations make kids all over the world fall in love with theatre while howling with laughter.

'Now, they have created a new, very cheeky, interactive version of Hamlet for children. This comic adventure shatters the fourth wall and glues it back together with turbo-charged story-telling and silliness.

'Hamlet is full of thrilling things that kids love in a good story: ghosts, castles, sword fights, fake blood and spooky stuff. Enter super-sonic gags, expertly timed stage trickery and special effects unlike anything kids have seen before and you have a very cleverly disguised Shakespearean tragedy for everyone aged five and over.

'And that’s not all… expect bonus pillow fights, pirates, ninjas, ninja pirates, aliens, ninja pirate aliens, zombies and a bunch of other hilarious stuff as The Listies take kids and their adults on a fun-filled hour of mayhem that mischievously celebrates the excitement and unpredictable nature of live theatre.

'The only thing we can be sure of is that everyone dies at the end – including the audience! ' (Production summary)

'Something is unfolding here in Elsinore. For weeks the strikes have been intensifying—but there’s a new mood tonight as Carnival approaches. There’s a vivid sense of an era ending—a new age opening up. The timber workers feel it… and the royals too. Inside the palace there are whispers… the King’s death, the grinning Queen, the agitated Prince… And the ancient forest is wild again, groaning—restless... It seems to me that everything is part of a broader picture—that no matter where you look, it will tell the whole wicked story.

'In a landmark production of unmissable storytelling, Malthouse Theatre launches an immersive theatre work on a scale never seen before in Australia. An entire world has been constructed for you to explore: follow the royals through the palace, roam the length of a town on the cusp of the digital age, or sift through the drawers of a single desk. Whatever you choose, a story will play out around you of a regime on the edge of collapse. You are a silent witness in the halls of power on a pivotal night in history. Move, venture deeper, listen closely, because the night will soon be lost—and all its secrets with it.

'Because The Night is an immersive theatre show. The show is experienced by moving through the world of Elsinore as the story plays out around you.

'The actors cannot 'see' you, and will never touch or talk to you. You are a silent witness to the story.

'Enter the sprawling world of Elsinore from one of three entrance rooms: the Bedroom, the Gymnasium, or the Royal Office. The story commences with different characters' perspectives before you are invited to explore the expanse that awaits you.

'Follow the characters as their stories intersect, or go off the beaten track to discover the secrets of the town. Every choice you make is the right choice, for whatever path you take will uncover the mysteries of Because The Night.

'If you are experiencing Because The Night as a group, it is recommended you start at different entrances. Whether you choose to explore together, or split up to discover the world alone, your journey is yours to take as you wish.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'I am walking amongst the dead, and they love me for I am one of them.

'King Hamlet is dead. Claudius is king. Hamlet is for the first time meeting themselves, like a reflection in the undercurrent of a river. There's a red light in the forest, voices on the wind, the taste of a narrative decaying. You are here at the end of all things. The sun is setting. The river is swelling. This story won't die.

'Horatio is desperate for a happier ending, and when they find themselves in a strange, stitched-together timeline with three bickering Hamlets, they think they might have an opportunity to rewrite their world into something softer. Tragedy, however, has a power of its own, and if there's any story that knows how to survive, it's a Shakespeare.

'Exploring the legacies of love, violence, and storytelling, this new work from a group of emerging student artists opens up radical new possibilities in the realm of adapting Shakespeare. Multi-disciplinary and experimental, this is a production unafraid to look you in the eye and ask: why are you still sitting there, when you already know they're all going to die?'

Source: Melbourne Fringe.