One of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies has captivated audiences for centuries with its tale of high stakes, revenge and betrayal.
Norwich Cathedral's cloister was transformed into an open-air theatre on Thursday and Friday for performances of Hamlet.
A modern-day incarnation of a travelling troupe of players, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men performed the play in the way it would have been done in Shakespeare's day.
It featured an all-male cast, Elizabethan costumes and traditional music and dance.
In the epic masterpiece set in the state of Denmark, Prince Hamlet famously asks: "To be, or not to be, that is the question."
Exacting revenge against his uncle for murdering his father in order to seize the throne and marry his mother, Hamlet slips into grief-stricken madness.
A cast of seven vividly brings to life one of the greatest theatrical portrayals of melancholy crafted by Shakespeare.
An arrangement of cold-grey pillars sets the stage of a Danish royal castle, seamlessly blending into the stone architecture of Norwich Cathedral.
A slow unravelling, with scenes rolling into the next, creates a winding tension that coils like a serpent's grasp around Hamlet's sanity.
Theatrical flair is demonstrated by performers when humour and jest bring lightness to a world drenched in heaviness and sorrow.
A captivating performance was given by Edward Bartram who starred as Polonius and the gravedigger.
A wild thirst for revenge buckles Hamlet, just as a cunning greed for power overrules the King, forcing both to confess themselves into darkness before the eyes of the audience.
With choreographed sword fights, drumming suspense and vengeful monologues, poison spreads across the stage in a compelling performance.
The Lord Chamberlain’s Men will return to Norwich Cathedral with a performance of Twelfth Night in 2025.
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