Hamlet (Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater)

The Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater revives its distinctive 1997 production of Hamlet. The show draws upon Shakespeare’s text, Ur-Hamlet sources and a popular Czech puppet version published in Prague for a toy puppet theatre in its heyday, the 1920s. Director Vit Horejs conceived the production noting how Shakespeare’s tragedy lends itself to a puppet interpretation with its themes of protagonists unable to escape their fate like marionettes manipulated by destiny. His adaptation employs twelve 26-inch puppets, four live actors and 50 toy marionettes in crowd scenes. The concept allows the audience to view the actions of the play through a double-prism as live performers mirror and comment on the actions of the marionettes, and vice-versa.