A B O U T T H E P R O D U C T I O N
The stage production of Hamlet was directed by Sarah Frankcom, Artistic Director of The Royal Exchange Theatre, and starred Maxine Peake, currently an Associate Artist at the Royal Exchange. Peake was BAFTA-nominated for her performances in The Village and Hancock and Joan and is also widely known for her performances in Silk, Red Riding and as Myra Hindley in See No Evil. Her role draws on her considerable talents as one of the nation’s best-loved actors and also as a writer. Sarah and Maxine have a long and productive collaborative relationship, including their hugely successful Masque of Anarchy at Manchester International Festival.
R E V I E W S
‘This is an extraordinary Hamlet. It’s more than extraordinary. It’s a milestone Hamlet’
Manchester Evening News
‘Intimate and intense…stunningly good… Peake and co make this 400-year-old revenge tragedy come alive in a way you’ve never seen before’
The Times
‘Fresh-minted and funny… This Hamlet is compelling’
The Independent
‘A fine performance that confirms Peake’s capacity for emotional directness and a fierce, uncensored honesty… the production goes out of its way to avoid cliché’
The Guardian
‘Peake, Frankcom and Williams have created something exceptional in this rendition of Hamlet. Graceful yet steely. Strong yet unapologetically tender. This cinematic version of Hamlet is as unique as it is unmissable. And if I wasn’t writing this? I’d probably be watching it again right now’
Carrie Armstrong, The Public Reviews
‘Maxine Peake has star quality, no question… There’s something about this dame that makes her Dane a hot-ticket’
The Telegraph
‘Maxine Peake strikes all the notes of intelligence, intensity and rage’
Financial Times
H A M L E T the F I L M
director
MARGARET WILLIAMS
cameras
JAMES DAY
GILES PRITCHARD
CHRISTY LEE
KING CHEUNG
LIZ HILLMAN
GARETH DAVIES
sound
CONRAD FLETCHER
producers
ANNE BERESFORD
DEBBIE GREY
Stage Director
SARAH FRANKOM
C A S T
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
MAXINE PEAKE
Claudius, King of Denmark / Ghost of Hamlet’s father
JOHN SHRAPNEL
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark
BARBARA MARTEN
Horatio, friend of Hamlet
THOMAS ARNOLD
Polonia, Lord Chamberlain
GILLIAN BEVAN
Laertes, her son
ASHLEY ZHANGAZHA
Ophelia, her daughter
KATIE WEST
Marcella, an officer/Player King
CLAIRE BENEDICT
Guildenstern, a courtier
PETER SINGH
Rosencrantz, a courtier/2nd Gravedigger
JODIE MCNEE
Margaret/1st Grave digger
MICHELLE BUTTERLY
Bernardo, an officer/Osric, a courtier/Player Queen
BEN STOTT
Francisco, a soldier/Reynaldo/Priest
TACHIA NEWALL
Lucianus
DEAN GREGORY