Recently, The Players from Bell Shakespeare delivered a performance of Hamlet: Out of Joint that gave students from Stage 5 and 6 an understanding of why the bard remains popular. The following paragraphs are from comments made by my Year 12 Advanced class:

The actors brought energy to the characters and explored their perception of the cause and effect of important events. This ‘Out of Joint’ performance was very beneficial as it furthered our understanding and knowledge of the play. The actors combined colloquial humour with the classic dialogue, providing contrast which helped the audience understand the action.

The actor playing Hamlet made ‘going mad’ and his confrontation with Ophelia both engaging and comprehensible. Having the breaks between each scene using ‘nowadays’ English was very clever and insightful. The several different attempts at ‘to be or not to be’ really brought the script to life. Listening to the soliloquies with the inflections, exaggerations and pauses used by the actors provided a better understanding of the actual plot. The backdrop of the moon and stars paid homage to the original Globe Theatre representing ‘the heavens’ painted on the ceiling.

The Bell Shakespeare site has several useful resources which will form the basis of our pre-trial revision in Term 3. Read and download here:

Production Resources: Hamlet Out of Joint