Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The year is 1986. Rock music fandoms everywhere are witnessing the pop music takeover. From the rise of synth pop to the beginnings of MTV, a war in the music world is taking place. Old Hamlet, the frontman of the chart-topping rock band “The Denmarks” has died, leaving his widow Gertrude and son Hamlet grief-stricken. Claudius, Old Hamlet’s brother, has decided to marry Gertrude, his once sister-in-law, and plans on being the new frontman of The Denmarks. On a dark night in The Elsinore, a young grieving Hamlet is met with an encounter with a spirit, who says it has a message from his father. Our young Hamlet soon learns that everything is not what it seems regarding his father’s death. He seeks to rectify the wrongdoings, and, in turn, he brings others up and down with him as he finally sits with the grief he’s hidden. This show uses 80’s rock music as a vehicle to explore human grief and what it means to truly feel. How far are we willing to go to escape the throws of bereavement? What lengths will we take to receive answers? And most of all, what happens when those deep feelings go unmitigated.