(8 meetings) 

1 October to 3 December 2024 (no classes 22 October and 12 November)

Online

Explore Hamlet with a leading Shakespeare director, using both theatrical and academic techniques of interpretation. The play is among the most famous in world theatre, and the leading role the most coveted by leading actors, but it presents many mysteries and alternative texts, and even provoked T.S.Eliot to declare it ‘an artistic failure’. 

Over eight Tuesday evenings Andrew will guide you through the play line by line, comparing its three main versions and attempting to answer the many questions it provokes. As in previous classes he will be joined by members of his company, Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, to experiment with alternative interpretations of key passages. 

In advance of the first class you will be sent some preparatory reading, and suggestions as to which published text to bring to the class. As part of this course there will be a reading week on 12 November, during which you will be given tasks to complete in your own time.  

Note that this is not an actors’ workshop but is conceived specifically for Shakespeare’s audience and readership. You will be invited to read out loud, but not required to do so. 

Andrew Hilton's Shakespeare productions at the Tobacco Factory were repeatedly praised in the national press for their clarity and intelligence. In 2014 he was awarded an Honorary D.Litt by the University of Bristol. This course follows highly successful courses on The Winter's Tale, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, Macbeth and King Lear.