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HAMLET THE FILM

2014  185′  HD Multi-camera Film
Hamlet was the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester’s fastest selling show in a decade. Starring acclaimed theatre and television actor Maxine Peake in the title role, the play attracted an outstanding 35,000 audience members during its hugely successful run in Autumn 2014.
HAMLET THE FILM, directed by Margaret Williams, captures this groundbreaking production of Shakespeare’s most iconic work on screen. The film opened in over 200 UK cinemas in March 2015.

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