By William Shakespeare

Theater an der Uni

15–20 November 2018

Explore our image gallery, see some behind the scenes photos, or read more about our production here.

The Textual Version
When you search the Hamlet section in our library, you’ll notice that it spans several metres of shelf space. Looking at this vast amount of scholarly and artistic engagement with this play, the main goal of a new stage production must be to find one’s own voice and message in the wealth of interpretations the play can offer. We started our search for our very own Hamlet by creating our own version of the text by combining the two main source texts, the Folio version and Q2, while also occasionally retaining structural and textual elements of Q1. 

The Stage Design
The design purposefully leaves off certain traditional stage elements such as side maskings and entrances. The idea behind that was to create a space that provides no area that shields one from observation. Once an actor enters this space he or she is completely exposed to the gaze of their audience – both within the play and without.

The Casting
As in all our productions, we practiced gender blind casting. We purposefully did not change any names or pronouns in the text so as to leave it intact as a framework that the actors can fill with their performances, wherein a character’s gender is only one of many markers

– Susanne Guertner

Like the play, the music of Hamlet is shaped by the tension between freedom and predetermination. For the most part of the play, the musicians have a fixed stock of possible notes from which they can choose to spontaneously create new melodies. While the rhythm they play is fixed, they are free to play it independently of each other.

By following this principle, the band creates a music of predetermined sounds and harmonies, that will nonetheless be different and new for each performance. Thus, the theme of the play is mirrored through a music that is varied and yet fixed, spontaneous and determined, and constantly shifting and changing.

– Rolli Bohnes

Director: Susanne Gürtner 
Musical Director: Rolli Bohnes 
Light: Maura Ballard, Quentin Federau 
Backstage: Laura Dobmeier, Lisa Kempa 
Costumes: Chris Gurău, Susanne Gürtner
Hair: Chris Gurău, Eva Hackl
Make-up: Diana Cao, Chris Gurău, Franziska Kachl, Nicolas Symeou
Artwork: Nicolas Symeou

Photography: Alexander Urban

Christine Mogwitz: Piano, Alto Recorder, Percussion 
Nobuaki Tanakaa: Violin, Percussion 
Alban Tröndle: Double Bass, Percussion 
Simon Hensel: French Horn, Percussion 
Victoria Reinfurt: Oboe, Percussion