Hamlet
Hall for Cornwall opens the national tour of Rupert Goold’s landmark Royal Shakespeare Company production in the Cornwall Playhouse, following an acclaimed run in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
★★★★★ – Morning Star
★★★★★ – Arts Desk
★★★★ ‘Scintillating’ – Financial Times
★★★★ ‘A must-see’ – Guardian
★★★★ – Mail on Sunday
★★★★ – Observer
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is here in Cornwall with a ‘must-see’ (Guardian) new production of Hamlet.
Hamlet’s mother has married his uncle, and at a less than decent interval since the death of his father. As he pulls at the threads of his not-so-happy new family, Hamlet unravels a web of deceit and immorality that leads to the ultimate crisis of conscience.
Fresh from its run in Stratford-upon-Avon, this ‘scintillating new staging’ (Financial Times) of Shakespeare’s famous revenge drama begins its major national tour at the Cornwall Playhouse.
The stellar creative team is led by multi-award-winning director Rupert Goold whose recent work includes Dear England (National Theatre) and King Charles III (Almeida Theatre). Ralph Davis will play Hamlet on tour.
Photograph of original cast (2025) by Ikin Yum.
Age Recommendation: This production features: Violence, Scenes of an adult nature including death and depictions of grief, Loud music and noises including gun shots, Flashing lights and strobe, Haze, Stage blood, Smoking (cigarettes).
Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes including a 20 min interval
School and youth group rate available – find out more
Pre-show performances from our youth and community groups
Throughout the week, be sure to join for our To Be series of events, performed in the Playhouse Bar (enter via Boscawen St) and produced by our youth and community groups in response to this RSC production of Hamlet. Performances take place in advance of Hamlet so arrive early and join us in celebrating our youth and community companies.
WED 25 FEB 6pm
Cornwall’s Shakespeare Nation perform a short extract from their 2025 production of Hamlet: Hawk from a Handsaw
THU 26 FEB 12 noon
A performance by Next Stage, our theatre group for those aged 60 and over
THU 26 FEB 6pm
HfC’s Senior Youth Dance company perform site specific pieces
FRI 27 FEB 6pm
Pray You, Mark.
A performance by our Young Company (aged 16+)
SAT 28 FEB 11.30am
HfC Youth Theatre juniors perform ‘William who?’
SAT 28 FEB 6pm
Performances from HfC Youth Theatre intermediate and senior companies
Post-show Q&A – Fri 27 Feb
Stay after the show on Fri 27 Feb for a post-show Q&A with four of the Hamlet cast. Hosted by Assistant Director, Vicky Moran, and HfC Deputy Creative Director, Helen Tiplady, this is your chance to ask any burning questions and find out more about inner workings of this ambitious touring production of Hamlet. The post-show Q&A requires no reservation – simply remain in the theatre after the performance. Those with tickets to alternative performances are welcome to join for the Fri 27 Feb post-show talk.
The Social – Connect Before the Curtain Rises
The Social is something brand-new for independent theatregoers. If you prefer selecting your own shows and keeping your own diary, while enjoying the experience of meeting others in a similar position, this is for you.
Arrive early, enjoy a complimentary hot drink in our comfy DHL Suite, and connect with fellow theatre enthusiasts before the performance.
What’s included?
Your ticket to the selected performance (Thu 26 Feb, 1pm)
Access to the pre-show gathering in the DHL Suite
Complimentary hot drinks
Introduction to fellow attendees by our experienced Welcome Team
Convenient seating located near an aisle
Learn more
Touch Tour and accessible performances
A Touch Tour is a pre-show opportunity for visually impaired attendees to familiarise themselves with sets and props in the auditorium. It is ticketed (book here) and will take place prior to the Sat 28 Feb 1pm performance.
Captioned Performance – Thu 26 Feb 7pm performance
This is the same performance with the addition of screens showing captions of the script, for the benefit of hard of hearing or d/Deaf audience members.
Audio Described Performance – Sat 28 Feb 1pm performance
This is the same performance with the option to use an audio description headset to listen to a full description of what is happening on stage, what costumes look like, and what the set looks like, for the benefit of visually impaired audience members.
Find out more about accessible performances here.
Photography by Marc Brenner
Members - we've streamlined things! You no longer need to log in on this page and will instead be prompted to log in after selecting your tickets. It is at this point your discounts will be applied, where applicable.
Not a member? You are missing out! Check out our membership options and join us today.
The Plot
Young Hamlet returns home from university to discover the world-shattering news that, not only is his father (Old Hamlet) newly dead, but that his mother, Gertrude, has married Old Hamlet’s brother, Claudius, and that Claudius is now king.The resultant instability has also led to threats of invasion by a soldier from a neighbouring state, Fortinbras.
Ghostly encounter
Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to him, accusing Claudius of his murder and urging Hamlet to revenge. This sets in motion a train of events that destroys both family and state.
Madness
No longer able to trust his own senses, the loyalty of his old friends, Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, or even the affections of his young love, Ophelia, Hamlet fakes madness in an attempt to provide himself with proof that the ghost is telling the truth. Aided only by his most loyal companion, Horatio, he persuades a travelling band of actors to re-enact the story of his father’s murder in front of Claudius and Gertrude, hoping that Claudius will be so stirred by remorse that he will confess his crime.
During an intense meeting with his mother, Hamlet hears a noise and realises that they are being spied upon. In rage, he stabs the hidden eavesdropper, believing it to be Claudius. Instead his discovers it is the King’s adviser, Polonius, father to both Ophelia and her brother, Laertes. Polonius dies.
Revenge
Afraid of what Hamlet might do next, Claudius has him arrested and despatched to England under guard, where he has arranged to have Hamlet murdered. Hamlet escapes, returns to his homeland and finally achieves his revenge.
The psychological effects of these upheavals on Hamlet lead to some of the greatest soliloquies in the English language and take the audience deep into the mind of Shakespeare’s most famous protagonist.
Stop reading now if you don’t want to know how the play ends…
Ophelia, having been violently rejected by Hamlet, hears that her father has been murdered. She loses her mind and eventually drowns herself. Her brother, Laertes, returns to court at the head of an angry mob, determined to find out the truth. Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is the only guilty party and agrees to help Laertes gain revenge.
Death
On learning of Hamlet’s escape and return to his homeland, Claudius convinces Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a fencing match and advises Laertes on how to kill Hamlet during the duel without arousing suspicion. As a back-up plan, Claudius also poisons a glass of wine which he intends to offer to Hamlet. Gertrude, however, drinks from the glass first and dies.
During the duel, Hamlet is slightly wounded by Laertes, who has tipped his sword with a deadly poison. In the ensuing tussle, the swords get switched and Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poisoned one. Realising that he is about to die, and that Claudius has manipulated the situation, Laertes confesses everything, forgives Hamlet and dies.
As the poison takes hold and he realises that he too is about to die, Hamlet finally carries through his dead father’s wish for revenge. He forces Claudius to drink the remaining poisoned wine, which quickly takes effect.
With his dying breath, Hamlet asks Horatio to ensure that his story is told accurately.
Young Fortinbras arrives at the head of his army, ready to assume control of a state whose royal family has been destroyed by betrayal, murder and revenge.
Studying Hamlet? Then you’ll love the RSC’s Shakespeare Learning Zone! Discover loads of facts, videos and in-depth information about Hamlet, here.
Ralph Davis – Hamlet
Rob Alexander-Adams – Voltemand
Richard Cant – Polonius
Kat Collings – Ensemble
Raymond Coulthard – Claudius
Maximus Evans – Marcellus
Ian Hughes – Ghost/Player King
CJ Johnson – Player Queen
Julia Kass – Guildenstern
Poppy Miller – Gertrude
Georgia-Mae Myers – Ophelia
Mark Oosterveen – Cornelius/Priest
Djibril Ramsey – Barnardo
Colin Ryan – Horatio
Jonathan Savage – Ensemble
Jamie Sayers – Rosencrantz
Leo Shak – Francisco
Benjamin Westerby – Laertes
Gallery - Marc Brenner
Dates, Times & Book
Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company
Members book first, at the best price. Join now from £35.
Not a Hall for Cornwall member yet? As a charity, we’re here for Cornwall’s audiences to discover all the arts can be. By becoming a member you’ll be supporting our work with young people and the community. You’ll also get member benefits such as priority booking access, discounts, exclusive events and more.
Join today, and make our stage yours.
You May Also Like…
