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Hamlet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Home | Hamlet: Language and themes

Language and themes

The first two pages look at the language of the play and ways in which a modern actor can make meaning for himself and for the audience whether through responding to the rhythm and sound or looking at the psychology and context.
The next three pages deal with directing: the specific choice of text and a decision over the 'To be or not to be' speech with a chance to see it performed in two different places in the play; discussion of historical context; and the director's initial discovery of the play and the influence on his approach.

Then actors, the director and a scholar speak about three of the major themes of Hamlet.

Line delivery

The text

The director's cut

Elizabethan context

Hamlet - a thriller

Revenge Tragedy

Death and delay

Madness

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