Hamlet - Relaxed Performance Guide

RELAXED PERFORMANCE

WELCOME
We look forward to welcoming you
to the Young Vic for a performance
of Hamlet on Tue 2 Nov at 7pm.
This pack is designed to provide
useful information ahead of your
visit, including details about how to
get to the theatre, what to expect
when you arrive and a guide to the
show itself.
If you have any questions in advance
of your visit, please get in touch
with our Welcome Team, who will be
happy to help.
welcometeam@youngvic.org
0207 922 2922
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HOW TO GET HERE
ADDRESS
Young Vic
66 The Cut
London
SE1 8LZ
BY TRAIN
The closest Underground tube stations
are Waterloo (Bakerloo, Jubilee,
Northern and Waterloo & City lines) and
Southwark (Jubilee line). National rail
services are available via London Waterloo and
London Waterloo East.
To plan your journey on public transport,
visit www.journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk or call
020 7222 1234 (Textphone 020 7918
3015).
BY CAR
There is no parking available directly
outside the theatre. Members of the Young
Vic team will be on hand to wait with
audience members who are being dropped
off and seating will be available in the
foyer/bar area.
The nearest car parks are National Car
Park Ltd on Upper Ground, Coin Street
and Waterloo station. We are in London’s
congestion zone operating 7am - 10pm
Monday to Sunday, excluding Public
Holidays. For more information, visit
www.cclondon.com
BY BIKE
There are cycle racks in front of the
building, to the right of the entrance.
There are also Transport for London Cycle
Hire docking points at Waterloo and
Southwark stations a short walk away.
Visit www.tfl.gov.uk to find locations
of docking points and to plan your cycle
route.
3

BEFORE THE SHOW
Whilst you’re waiting for the performance to start, there
will be seats available downstairs in the foyer/ bar and
upstairs in a quiet room.
The same room will be free during the performance if you
need to leave the theatre at any point. There is a lift located
at the back of the building.
BOX OFFICE AND TICKETS
Your e-ticket will be emailed to you prior to the performance.
The Box Office will be happy to help with any queries you have
in advance or on the day. They can provide in-ear and neck
hearing loops if required.
Please note there is no cloakroom at the Young Vic. You are
welcome to take large coats and small bags into the theatre with
you. If you have any larger bags it is possible to leave them with
the Welcome Team at the Box Office during the performance.
For security reasons, your bag will be checked before it is
stored.
TIMINGS
Show Start Time: 7pm
Interval: 15 Minutes
Show End Time: 10:10pm
Timed entry is in operation at the theatre. Your ticket will
display your time and which door you will need to enter the
theatre through. Our ushers will be on hand to help you.
If you feel you need to leave the performance at any time,
ushers will help you find your way back to the foyer or the
quiet room.
4

FOOD AND DRINK TOILETS THEATRE
The Cut Bar at the Young Vic is
open 4pm – 11pm and serves a
variety of dishes and drinks. You
can purchase a drink before you
enter the theatre. If you take it
in, it must be transferred to a
paper or plastic cup. Food may
not be taken into the
theatre. To book a table, visit
www. thecutbar.com/booknow or
call 0207 922 2906
There are toilets upstairs and
downstairs at the Young Vic,
with accessible toilets on both
levels.
They are situated at the rear
of the building on the left hand
side.
The auditorium has both upstairs
and downstairs sections which
can be accessed via entrances on
both floors.
There is a balcony with a
number of seats upstairs. The
performance will be socially
distanced.
5

THE CAST
HAMLET
Cush Jumbo
Hamlet has an androgynous look and is played by a woman. He has light brown
skin and the youthful look of someone in their twenties. Hamlet’s dark hair is close
cropped and he has large expressive eyes with delicate eyebrows. In mourning when
we first meet him, he wears black jeans and a round-necked t-shirt with a black suit
jacket, with a black sash tied diagonally across his chest and thick soled black shoes.
Later he wears loose pale jeans and a pale grey shirt, or grey joggers and a dark
grey sweatshirt with a black baseball cap and white trainers.
CLAUDIUS/GHOST
Adrian Dunbar
Gertrude’s new husband Claudius is in his fifties, tall, and in shape for his age. He
has a ruddy complexion and his sandy blonde hair is neat and cut short, falling into
a centre parting. Claudius is watchful and sharp eyed, his expression often tense,
brow furrowed. He wears a tailored, mid-blue suit with a matching tie and a pale
blue shirt and polished leather brogues. Later, in a more casual moment, the tie is
removed and the shirt worn open at the collar.
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GERTRUDE
Tara Fitzgerald
Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, is in early fifties with a delicate, attractive face. Her
eyes sparkle with joy and her smile is warm around her son. Gertrude’s long dark
hair is usually pulled back and knotted in a bun at the back. She dresses stylishly:
in her first appearance, at court, she wears an exquisitely tailored 2-piece, pencil
skirt and fitted jacket in a delicate pale pink with toning heels. Her sleek straight
hair is loose and brushed forward over one shoulder. In a less formal moment, she
wears cream, high-waisted, wide-leg trousers with a pale yellow silk blouse, adding
a cropped pale pink Chanel-style jacket, this time with her hair tucked under a
champagne-coloured silk turban. To see the performance by the Players, her cream
trousers are teamed with a similarly toned designer jumper with balloon sleeves.
POLONIUS/PRIEST
Joseph Marcell
Claudius’s chief advisor is Polonius who’s in his seventies, with brown skin, a balding
head and a short grey afro and beard. Although not tall, Polonius carries himself
with a stately deportment, chin lifted. He dresses stylishly in a double breasted
beige and brown plaid suit, worn with a pale blue shirt and a deep, burnt orange tie,
a matching handkerchief in his breast pocket. His trousers are held up by red braces.
Polonius wears a gold signet ring and gold lapel pin. He carries a black leather
portfolio.
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LAERTES/PLAYER
Johnathan Ajayi
Laertes has a fiery temperament and a strong athletic physique. He has brown skin
and close cropped afro hair with a neat beard and moustache. For a formal occasion,
Laertes wears a smart burnt orange suit with a pale top and a thin gold chain
around his neck. Later, for travel, he changes into a designer tracksuit in racing
green. Red stripes down the legs evoke military uniform and he wears white socks
and sliders. He carries a large sports holdall as his travelling bag. He returns in
black, in smart casual style, his black suit trousers belted at the waist and worn with
a snug black jumper. On his wrist is a gold watch and he wears black boots.
OPHELIA
Norah Lopez Holden
Ophelia is in her late teens, with a soft, dreamy expression. She has a petite frame
and thick wavy shoulder length dark hair, and her pale face is not made up. When
we first meet her she wears loose high-waisted jeans in a washed-out pale blue with
a deliberately distressed tear at the knee and a cropped blouse in a soft lime green
with a delicate floral print and a frilled hem. With this she wears red Converse
trainers, a pair of pale pink headphones round her neck. Resting in her room, her
hair is pulled back off her face and she wears a pair of pale blue cotton shorts and
t-shirt and a cropped grey zip up hoodie, with white socks pulled up to her calves.
At a meeting with Hamlet instigated by her father, she wears an ankle-length pale
green patterned dress with square neckline and a mustard-coloured short sleeved
cardigan.
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HORATIO
Johnathan Livingstone
Horatio is Hamlet’s good friend. Of a similar age to Hamlet, he’s shorter and has
a sturdier build. He has brown skin and short afro hair with a trimmed beard and
moustache. His soft featured face often holds an expression of loving concern for
Hamlet. When we first meet him he’s wearing dark navy combat trousers and shirt
with a moss green canvas gilet, and a dark blue beanie cap.
ROSENCTANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN
Taz Skylar & Joana Borja
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two student friends with a hippy college style.
Rosencrantz has thick curly brown hair that falls below her shoulders and wears an
orange crop top with loose cotton trousers in a faded orange check and trainers.
Guildenstern has bleached blonde hair, cut short. He wears a striped orange and
blue shirt, beige chinos, an oversized pale blue denim hooded-jacket and brown
Converse trainers. He often takes a pulls on a vape. The pair are inseparable.
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PLAYERS
Adesuwa Oni, Leo Wringer and Egidio De Oliveira, Flynn
Hall, Sahana Rackal, and Molly-Rose Treves
The players wear informal rehearsal clothes – they all have matching white company t-shirts decorated with a
round orange logo, teamed with various tracksuit bottoms and leggings. The lead player is an older black man
with a grey beard and a bald head.
SECURITY GUARDS
Taz Skylar & Adesuwa Oni
Bernardo and Marcellus are two guards. They are contemporary soldiers in dark navy uniforms, flak jackets
and heavy black boots. Bernardo is a black woman in her twenties with long braids.
Marcellus is a white man of the same age, in the same uniform, with a beret pulled over his pale blonde hair.
Both carry sub-machine guns across their bodies.
GRAVEDIGGER
Leo Wringer
The Gravedigger wears dark clothing and appears with a shovel. He digs bones from a hole in the stage.
10

HAMLET SYNOPSIS
SCENE ONE - WHO’S THERE?
On the platform where the soldiers keep watch, Bernardo and Marcellus have seen an ominous ghostly apparition.
Horatio, a student, is enlisted to speak to the spirit – to find out if its presence is an omen or a blessing. The three characters
make a decision.
SCENE TWO - NEW ORDER
The New Regime is announced by Claudius – the new King – and Gertrude – the Queen. Claudius and Gertrude have married
in the intervening two months after the death of Gertrude’s husband Old Hamlet, the previous king. Her son, Prince
Hamlet, watches on.
SCENE THREE - HAMLET ALONE PART 1
With his hopes of returning to Wittenberg to continue his studies destroyed, Hamlet faces his future.
SCENE FOUR - FOUL DEEDS
Horatio and Marcellus break the news to Hamlet that they have seen a spirit of his dead father and ask him to come with
them that evening to see it for himself.
SCENE FIVE - I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU
Ophelia, daughter of Polonius (Chief Councillor of Elsinore), conjures up Hamlet in her mind. They dance.
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SCENE SIX - BROTHER AND SISTER
Laertes, Polonius’s son, says his final farewells to his sister Ophelia before leaving for Paris.
SCENE SEVEN - ENTER DADDY
Polonius reminds Laertes of the important values to live by, and the family say their goodbyes.
SCENE EIGHT - FATHER AND DAUGHTER
Polonius warns Ophelia that his spies have told him about her and Hamlet. He makes it clear that by being with Hamlet,
she puts the whole family in a dangerous position. He orders her to break off the relationship.
SCENE NINE - NIGHT WATCH
It’s past midnight. Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus are on the platform, waiting for the ghostly apparition to appear. It
beckons Hamlet to follow it. Alone.
SCENE TEN - GHOST WORLD
Hamlet finds himself in the ghost’s world. The apparition reveals that the newly-crowned Claudius in fact murdered King
Hamlet and that it cannot rest until Hamlet has avenged his father’s death.
SCENE ELEVEN - HAMLET ALONE PART 2
The ghost leaves Hamlet to deal with the burden of action.
SCENE TWELVE - WILD WORLDS
Horatio and Marcellus find Hamlet. He forces them to make a pact to keep the apparition a secret.
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SCENE THIRTEEN - BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Some time has passed. Hamlet has been behaving strangely. Ophelia finds her father, having had a disturbing encounter
with Hamlet. Polonius decides that Hamlet’s love for her was real and that he was driven mad when the relationship
SCENE FOURTEEN - WELCOME
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet’s teenage friends, have been invited to the palace by Claudius and Gertrude. They
are told of Hamlet’s changed behaviour and asked to find out where it stems from.
SCENE FIFTEEN & SIXTEEN- GOOD NEWS
Polonius announces he has found the solution to Hamlet’s madness and reveals his discovery to Claudius and Gertrude.
They set up a plot where they can witness Hamlet’s behaviour first-hand, using Ophelia as bait.
SCENE SEVENTEEN - FISHMONGER
Polonius attempts to converse with Hamlet whilst he is reading but beats a hasty retreat.
SCENE EIGHTEEN - HAMLET ALONE
Hamlet examines the meaning of life, of death, of sleep.
SCENE NINETEEN - REUNION
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern surprise Hamlet, but something’s in the air – why are they there?
13

SCENE TWENTY - BUZZ BUZZ
Polonius brings the news that the Players have arrived in Elsinore.
SCENE TWENTY ONE - PLAYERS
Hamlet welcomes the Players to the court and requests a speech straight away – one he saw them perform when he was
younger.
SCENE TWENTY TWO - HAMLET ALONE
Hamlet’s frustration at his own inaction explodes. He is inspired and decides to use the Players to help him judge whether
or not Claudius is guilty of his father’s death.
SCENE TWENTY THREE - WHAT’S GOING ON?
Claudius and Gertrude quiz Rosencrantz and Guildenstern on Hamlet’s behaviour – have they found anything out yet?Gertrude
leaves Claudius and Polonius to enact their plot.
SCENE TWENTY FOUR - NUNNERY
Ophelia returns Hamlet’s gifts and belongings to him. They splinter.
SCENE TWENTY FIVE - OPHELIA ALONE
Ophelia has seen the change in Hamlet – what has happened to him?
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SCENE TWENTY SIX - UNWATCHED
Claudius and Polonius emerge from their hiding place, having overheard the scene. Claudius rejects the idea that Hamlet
is mad from love, and Polonius protests it still might have been the trigger…
SCENE TWENTY SEVEN - SHOWTIME
The Players set the stage as Hamlet gives them strict direction.
SCENE TWENTY EIGHT - HORATIO
Hamlet involves Horatio in his plot to catch Claudius out.
SCENE TWENTY NINE - PRE PLAY
The royal entourage gathers for the play.
SCENE THIRTY - THE MURDER OF GONZAGO
The Players perform their version of an old Italian murder play where a nephew kills a king. Claudius reacts and leaves.
SCENE THIRTY ONE - PLAY ON
Hamlet and Horatio compare notes. He celebrates with the Players and dances.
SCENE THIRTY TWO - FRIENDSHIP
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to speak to Hamlet – they saw how angrily Claudius left and Gertrude has sent them to
ask Hamlet to go and see her.
15

SCENE THIRTY THREE - CLOUD SHAPES
Polonius arrives to hurry Hamlet along but gets distracted, as Hamlet notices the clouds outside.
SCENE THIRTY FOUR - HAMLET ALONE
Hamlet prepares himself for what he knows he must do.
SCENE THIRTY FIVE - CLAUDIUS ALONE
Claudius prays – but can you seek redemption without giving anything up?
SCENE THIRTY SIX - OPPORTUNITY
Hamlet chances upon Claudius as he prays – can he kill him now?
SCENE THIRTY SEVEN - CLOSET - A RAT
Polonius is with Gertrude in her bedroom. He hides himself so he can overhear the conversation with Hamlet. Hamlet
arrives but soon realises there’s a spy in the room, with disastrous consequences.
SCENE THIRTY EIGHT - CLOSET - TWO PICTURES
Hamlet challenges Gertrude on her quick marriage, comparing the two brothers, and reveals his hostility towards
Claudius.
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SCENE THIRTY NINE - CLOSET - FAMILY AFFAIR
The Ghostly Apparition appears and speaks to Hamlet. Gertrude does not see or hear it. The apparition disappears, never
to return.
SCENE FORTY - HEAVY DEED
Gertrude tells Claudius of Polonius’s death and Claudius comes to a decision on Hamlet’s fate. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
are ordered to find Hamlet – and Polonius’ body.
SCENE FORTY ONE - ARREST
Hamlet is arrested and accuses Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of being double agents.
SCENE FORTY TWO - INTERROGATION AND PUNISHMENT
Hamlet reveals where he has put Polonius’s body. Claudius announces that Hamlet will be taken to England and that
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are going with him. Once he is alone onstage, Claudius reveals his real plan.
SCENE FORTY THREE - OPHELIA DISTRACT
A damaged Ophelia encounters Gertrude and Claudius back inside Elsinore. Osric has now taken over from Polonius.
SCENE FORTY FOUR - UNDER PRESSURE
Claudius sums up a dangerous situation brewing. Laertes comes at the head of a mass popular demonstration and disarms
the palace guards. The King and Queen are now exposed.
17

SCENE FORTY FIVE - LAERTES RETURNS
Laertes appears demanding justice. Claudius disarms him through words.
SCENE FORTY SIX - FLOWERS
Ophelia appears and performs a burial ceremony in front of the King, the Queen and her brother.
SCENE FORTY SEVEN - LETTER
Horatio receives a surprising letter from Hamlet, recounting what has happened to him at sea. Hamlet is returning to
Denmark and asks Horatio to meet him.
SCENE FORTY EIGHT - MURDER PLOT
Claudius and Laertes are reconciled, when they receive a letter from Hamlet. Claudius spontaneously improvises a plan
and Laertes becomes part of a murder plot to kill Hamlet during a sporting contest.
SCENE FORTY NINE - DROWNED
Gertrude appears and reports the death of Ophelia to her brother.
SCENE FIFTY - GRAVEYARD
Hamlet meets Horatio in a graveyard. A gravedigger is preparing a grave and Hamlet engages the gravedigger in a
wide-ranging conversation about Death.
18

SCENE FIFTY ONE - FUNERAL
Hamlet is interrupted by the funeral ceremony of Ophelia. The ceremony angers Laertes. Hamlet reveals himself and the
two men clash over the grave of Ophelia.
SCENE FIFTY TWO - SEA ADVENTURE
Hamlet recounts important further facts to Horatio about what happened at sea.
SCENE FIFTY THREE - WATER FLY
Osric appears with a request that Hamlet engages Laertes in a sporting contest. Hamlet agrees.
SCENE FIFTY FOUR - LIFE AND DEATH
Hamlet and Laertes perform a reconciliation in public at Gertrude’s request. Claudius puts his murder plot into action.
Hamlet and Laertes engage in a contest. Things go awry with fatal consequences.
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THANK YOU FOR COMING!
Thank you very much for coming – we hope you enjoyed the show.
The Young Vic is committed to making your visit as enjoyable
as possible. Please let us know if you have any feedback on this
relaxed performance – we welcome any comments you may have.
Chat about your experience with a member of our Welcome Team in
person after the show, or contact us later:
welcometeam@youngvic.org | 0207 922 2922
Photography by Helen Murray 20