HAMLET QUARTET
Theatre (2010)Premiered at the SNA National Awards Festival, Delhi.
On tour to the GATS Festival Beijing (China) and the Prithvi Theatre Festival, Mumbai.
“Grover develops a hybrid, transformative language for Shakespeare’s text” - Asian Age
“Director Amitesh Grover brings surreal imagery and visual richness to stage” - The Indian Express
“Grover’s much anticipated work comes to the Prithvi Theatre Festival” - Hindustan Times
I reconstruct Shakespeare’s text Hamlet through the writings of two well known authors – Hamletmachine by Heiner Muller and Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Both these texts extend the premise of the original, pushing and pulling its structure, character-logy and significance in diametrically placed positions. While the former maps explosively the political crisis of the Modern Man post-world war, post-holocaust and locates him amongst contending national & international identities, the latter ridicules the existential dilemmas of the same man with warmth, wit and deliberation. All three texts thrust the limits of language and imagery to their very extreme. The show is arranged episodically and young performers from different regions of India have been drawn into this production to grapple with concurrent renderings of Shakespeare. It also highlights the conflict between two generations and their choices between nationhood, duty, family and love. The time is now, the world is one of violent and competing internationalism. Finally, the appreciation of Hamlet belongs to the development of the critical faculty, an informed reflection and hesitation amidst the economy of the instant.
Concept & Direction by Amitesh Grover | Set & Lights Design by Randhir Kumar | Dramaturgy by Keshav Kumar
Cast - Hamlet - Vipin Bhardwaj/Ophelia, Guildernstern, & Clown - Savita Rani/Gertrude, Rosencrantz & Clown - Laxmi Rawat/Ghost, Claudius, Polonius & Laertes - Nitin Kishor Bhajjan
Duration: 90 minutes | Language: Hindustani | Produced by GATS International Festival, Beijing, China | Photography by Thyagarajan S
