Theatre consortium Black Theatre Live's fourth touring production is to be Britain’s first allblack Hamlet.
The play has been adapted by film, theatre and radio writer Mark Norfolk and sets Denmark as a modern black empire of England. Norfolk's credits include Blair’s Children, Wrong Place and Where The Flowers Grow.
The director will be Jeffery Kissoon who said, “in Hamlet, we reflect on the black experience, anxieties, and sensibilities in a modern era. Shakespeare’s wonderfully rich text explores a tormented humanity, asking the searching questions of life and death faced head-on by a young black prince.
"'Remember me' is the theme of this production; by saying 'Remember me', the ghost of Hamlet's father is urging Hamlet to remember not just him, but his background, heritage and all those that came before him.”
Black Theatre Live is a consortium of eight regional theatres: Tara Arts, Derby Theatre, Queen’s Hall Arts (Hexham), the Lighthouse (Poole), Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Theatre Royal Margate, Stratford Circus Arts Centre (London) and Key Theatre (Peterborough).
Led by Tara Arts, Black Theatre Live aims to commission and tour high quality BAME productions. Its first two productions were Macbeth and She Called Me Mother. The Diary of a Hounslow Girl is to tour shortly.
Casting and tour dates for Hamlet are not yet announced. It is co-production with Watford Palace Theatre and Stratford Circus Arts Centre.