On tour now
"I liked when she was singing love songs and when she was dancing. It made me feel interested of what will happen next and made me feel happy"
— Young Audience Member
With 2 actors, 1 musician, 7 props, and a suitcase, NIE reimagines the world’s most famous play in a funny & accessible way.
“To be, or not to be, that is the question.”
Hamlet is a family drama of revenge, justice, and moral dilemmas. NIE’s ensemble combine Shakespearean verse, contemporary language, and inventive staging to make the story engaging and exciting for young audiences.
Warnings – References Ophelia’s suicide.
This is the first show in our strand of flexible touring work: Shakespeare in a Suitcase. Followed by Macbeth, created in 2023.
For the latest touring dates, and information about booking the show for your school or theatre, please see our main show page here.
To go alongside the live show, we have created a digital companion piece. These short films can be used to either recap on the story after watching the live performance or they can be used as an introduction to the most famous story ever told!
1. Introduction to ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’, a story of Revenge, Love, Death, Heartbreak and Fate.
2. The Ghost…If thou didst ever they dear father love…
3. The story begins on the battlements… (including recap song)
4. Hamlet and Ophelia…To be, or not to be…
5. Revenge!
6. Hamlet – The whole story
Speech 1 – ‘Oh that this too too solid flesh would melt…’
Speech 2 – ‘To be or not to be…’
Press
This production has been performed several times over the last few years in schools, libraries and theatres across Cambridgeshire and the South East.
“Hugely enjoyable and accessible version of Hamlet. The pace and selection of scenes was well conceived for abridged storytelling, and the small ensemble cast brought to life numerous characters with help from some surprising props. Who knew so much comedy was contained in this well-known tragedy? ”
– Joanne Grey, Cambridgeshire County Council.
“I really liked it because it had humour, heart-break and pain. The music quality was great. I loved the songs and the sound was calming. I especially liked the fight at the end. The way they told the story appealed to me. Ophilia was my favourite, but everyone was great.”
– Young audience member
Credits
Performers – Jodie Davey, Greg Hall & Abayomi Oniyide
Director – Michael Judge
Designer/Animation – Rachana Jadhav
Composer – Greg Hall
R&D Performer – Rose McPhilemy
Photography & Sound – Mariana Vaz, Ryd Cook, Rehan Jamie
Editor – Mariana Vaz
Additional Sound – Sven Mattes
Producer – Ruth Carter-Moore
Suitable for ages 8+. A NIE production.
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Proudly supported by
The project "NIE Theatre - Graphic design/branding" is financed by the European Union - NextGenerationEU within the Creative Vouchers program by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.