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Hamlet Meets Bluegrass in Short Life of Trouble at the Access Theater

Valerie Redd offers her Southern take Shakespearean drama.

Brendan Spieth and Short Life of Trouble creator Valerie Redd as the classic Shakespearean characters of Hamlet and Ophelia.
Brendan Spieth and Short Life of Trouble creator Valerie Redd as the classic Shakespearean characters of Hamlet and Ophelia.
(photo courtesy of the production)

Valerie Redd's Short Life of Trouble, inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, William Faulkner, and bluegrass music, is now enjoying its world premiere production at the Access Theater.

Set in the summer of 1930 in rural Mississippi, the play follows Shakespeare's title character as he is prompted to revenge by a questionable ghost, forcing him to grapple with the concept of mortality.

Directed by Eric Powell Holm, the cast features John C. Egan, Gregory Isaac, Sheila Joon, Suzy Kohane, Michael Markham, Joseph Mitchell Parks, Brendan Spieth, Andy Talen, and creator Valerie Redd.

Check out the actors as they inhabit their Southern Gothic characters on the Access Theater Stage, where performances will run through June 21.

John C. Egan as The Ghost, with Brendan Spieth as Hamlet and Michael Markham as Claudius.
John C. Egan as The Ghost, with Brendan Spieth as Hamlet and Michael Markham as Claudius.
(photo courtesy of the production)

For tickets to Short Life of Trouble, click here.

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