Hamlet / Fantômes

About

This world premiere production by Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov offers a radical reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, confronting the protagonist with himself, his era, and the audience. Serebrennikov’s concept splits the character of Hamlet across multiple actors who deliver the text in four languages—English, Russian, German, and French. The director describes this approach as exploring “Hamlet as violence. Hamlet as myth. Hamlet as diagnosis. Hamlet as rhizome. Hamlet as phobia. Hamlet as memory.” The work is defined as music theatre, blending text and music in various performative combinations. The score by Blaise Ubaldini, commissioned specifically for this production and performed by the Ensemble intercontemporain, is written for a large ensemble of thirty musicians, including drums, electric bass, and synthesizer alongside a vocal trio. The production also included outreach events such as pre-show talks and a post-show discussion.