Premiere on 22 January 2025 at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles
The King of Denmark is dead. His brother, Claudius, has taken his place on the throne and married his widow, Gertrude. As Hamlet wanders through the castle, his father’s ghost appears to him and reveals that he was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet must avenge him and reclaim his rightful place. To conceal his plan, he feigns madness. His increasingly strange behaviour begins to worry the court. Could it be due to the passionate love he feels for Ophelia, daughter of Polonius, the king’s advisor? But Claudius senses the danger Hamlet now poses; he has no choice: he must get rid of his erratic nephew. There is definitely something rotten in the state of Denmark.
Hamlet is the play of plays. The queen of tragedies! More than four hundred years after its premiere, and thousands of adaptations later, it still manages to surprise us and continues to speak to us about the world – both yesterday’s and today’s. To tackle this masterpiece of theatre (and literature), Christophe Sermet has assembled a dazzling cast and offers us a version of Hamlet full of vitality and humour, without compromising on the depth of Shakespeare’s words.
Starring Adrien Drumel , François Gillerot, Francesco Italiano, Sarah Lefèvre , Anne-Marie Loop, Nathalie Mellinger, Mathilde Rault , Fabrice Rodriguez, Zoé Schellenberg, Alexandre Trocki
Adaptation and translation by Christophe Sermet
Adaptation collaboration: Caroline Lamarche
Assistant director: Quentin Simon
Set design and lighting design: Simon Siegmann
Set design intern: Georges Donnet
Sound design: Maxime Bodson
Video and typography design Sam Bodson
Costume design: Marie Szersnovicz
Hair, wigs and make-up design: Katja Piepenstock
Set dressing: Manon Bruffearts
Stage manager Giuliana Rienzi
Lighting technician Arthur Demaret
Sound engineering: Simon Pirson, Célia Naver
Stage management: Lucas Hamblenne, Olivier De Bondt
Video operator: Ludovic Desclin
Set construction and costume design: Workshops of the National Theatre of Wallonia-Brussels
A production by Christophe Sermet / Compagnie du Vendredi
Produced by the Wallonia-Brussels National Theatre and Compagnie du Vendredi
Co-production Théâtre Populaire Romand – La Chaux-de-Fonds – Centre Neuchâtelois des arts vivants, Maison de la culture de Tournai, Le Vilar Louvain-la-Neuve, La Coop asbl, Shelter Prod
Supported by Taxshelter.be, ING and the Belgian Federal Government’s Tax Shelter
