In Denmark, nothing is as it was. The crisis-ridden kingdom is threatened with ruin; something is rotten in the state. In the middle of it all is the king's son: Hamlet. Having just buried his father, he is forced to accept his uncle as his mother's new husband.
And Ophelia, whom he loves, spies on him in the service of his supposed enemies. A world of lies and deceit, or so it seems to Hamlet. Where should trust come from? Hamlet stumbles. He wavers. Torn apart inside, he wants to avenge his father's death. And in doing so, he sets a murderous game in motion.
In his production, director Roger Vontobel poses the question of how it is possible to act correctly when you have to strike a balance between private hardship and political reality. Who is in the right here? Who is lying? Who can still see clearly? Who is insane and who is sane in this world that has gone off the rails? Vontobel's "Hamlet" was originally created at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, where it became a cult production during the directorship of Wilfried Schulz. Now it can be seen with the Düsseldorf ensemble on the Rhine.
Shakespeare's "Hamlet" has been on the programme since February 2019 - with Christian Friedel in the title role, who also thrilled audiences in Düsseldorf in "The Sandman" and "Dorian". What makes this production of "Hamlet" special is its own musical narrative level, for which Christian Friedel has written the songs and which also turns this theatre evening into a furious Shakespeare concert. (Source: Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf)
