RSC Hamlet heads to Newcastle

Published: 11 May 2017
Reporter: Peter Lathan

Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet Credit: Manuel Harlan
Matilda the Musical Credit: Manuel Harlan

The RSC’s 2016 production of Hamlet starring Paapa Essiedu comes to Northern Stage in Newcastle from 20 to 24 February 2018 as part of a national tour.

RSC Associate Artist Essiedu won Best Performance in a Play at the UK Theatre Awards in 2016 for his role as Hamlet. His other RSC credits include Edmund in King Lear, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Mouse and his Child. Additional theatre credits include King Lear (National Theatre) and Romeo and Juliet (Tobacco Factory). He played Demetrius in Russell T Davies’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for BBC1 (2016).

The production is directed by Simon Godwin whose work as a director includes The Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC), Richard II (Shakespeare’s Globe), Twelfth Night, Man and Superman, The Beaux’ Stratagem and Strange Interlude (National Theatre). He is Associate Director of the Royal Court Theatre and was Associate Director at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate between 2001and 2004.

“I’m delighted that Hamlet will be touring in 2018,” Godwin said. “Paapa Essiedu is British with Ghanaian heritage. When Paapa and I talked about the production, I realised how radical it might be to see Denmark through the lens of a completely different culture, a culture that Paapa himself had experienced. I began to imagine a Denmark re-conceived as a modern state influenced by the ritual, traditions and beauty of West Africa. So, our setting is full of the colour, emotional intensity and passion associated with that part of the world.

“As Hamlet, Paapa is intelligent, youthful and charismatic, with a contemporary wit. But his portrayal is also mercurial with an element of danger.

“Part ghost story, part family tragedy, part dark comedy, Hamlet is an urgent and gripping thriller. I can’t wait to see how audiences respond to it around the country.”

Hamlet is the second RSC tour to be announced for 2018. Matilda the Musical is also travelling to the North East and will play at Sunderland Empire from 8 May to 2 June.

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?