Galleon Theatre Company presents::
HAMLET
“A slim and sprightly Hamlet… pared-down to a taut two-and-a-half hours is sensitively done and satisfies
with the domestic drama emerging strongly.”- Financial Times (2000)
Galleon Theatre Company, a long established independent company which has been producing internationally acclaimed and high quality theatre for over two decades, staged an exquisite and epic production of one of the greatest dramas ever written in the English language.
Hamlet, written around 1601 and first performed in 1602, remains strikingly modern and relevant because of its profound psychoanalytical and philosophical questions on the meaning of life, the hereafter, death, religious scepticism, loyalty, and man’s significance within the vastness of the universe.
Galleon Theatre Company’s atmospheric, beautifully directed, designed and acted celebration of Shakespeare‘s most loved and most often quoted of plays is set in the 1800s and within a Gothic Romantic aesthetic. Hamlet’s plot, rich in the evocative imagery of a restless ghost, a graveyard, a skull, insanity, narcissism, and both repressed and expressed sexuality; is fittingly placed within a period defined by scientific invention, industrial and commercial fervour, imperialism, moral severity, and Romanticism - a time of great moral, religious, social and political contradiction.
Hamlet is creatively spearheaded by the hugely acclaimed director/actor Bruce Jamieson (who also plays Claudius) and by award winning producer Alice de Sousa; co-founders of Galleon Theatre Company, the Greenwich Playhouse and Galleon Films. Over two decades they have created dozens of internationally acclaimed theatre productions, delivered an unbroken legacy of high production values to the independent theatre sector and provided affordable and intelligent entertainment for thousands of people.
The Director: BRUCE JAMIESON, who last performed at the Greenwich Playhouse in 2005 returns to its stage in the role of Claudius. He has directed some thirty previous Galleon productions and played leading roles in some sixty stage plays. As a television and film actor his credits include: The Oxford Murders (Tornasol); Murphy’s Law (Tiger Aspect); Monarch of the Glen (Ecosse); Ali G-Inda House (Universal); Roughnecks (BBC); In Suspicious Circumstances (Granada); Crime Solver (BBC); and Spongebob (BBC).
The Producer - ALICE DE SOUSA - is a multi-award winning writer, producer and actress. She has created over seventy stage productions; played leading roles in some thirty plays; written numerous stage and screen scripts; won in 2009 two awards including the Portuguese government’s ‘Premio de Talento’; in 2004 the American Biographical Institute awarded her with ‘Great Women of the 21st Century’ and in 2005 as ‘Woman of the Year’. (These awards recognise the impact on society of the work of 1000 prolific women worldwide).
The Cast
CLAUDIUS – BRUCE JAMIESON
LAERTES – PETER RAE
POLONIOUS – BARRY CLARKE
HAMLET – ROBIN HOLDEN
GERTRUDE – JANE STANTON
HORATIO – DARREN STAMFORD
OPHELIA – ELANA MARTIN
GHOST – CHRISTOPHER PEACOCK
ROSENCRANTZ – KEVIN MILLINGTON
GUILDENSTERN – ANDREW LEISHMAN
THE PLAYER KING – CHRISTOPHER PEACOCK
THE PLAYER QUEEN &
OPHELIA’S LADY – ELIZABETH DONEGAN
THE GRAVE DIGGERS – ELIZABETH DONEGAN &
ANDREW LEISHMAN
THE PRIEST – CHRISTOPHER PEACOCK
OSRICK – KEVIN MILLINGTON
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Deputy Stage Manager – JO ABRAM
Scenery Designer – RUSSELL FISHER
Production Photography &
Lighting Designer – ROBERT GOOCH
Fight Director – IAN MCCRACKEN
Assistant Stage Manager – HETTY TILLARD
Costume Designer – ELEANOR WDOWSKI
Directed by – BRUCE JAMIESON
Produced by – ALICE DE SOUSA
Press Quotes
“Galleon's production of Hamlet balances the tragedy and comedy of Shakespeare's masterpiece in a tightly-cut script, complementing the intimate arena of the Playhouse's dark stage. “- London Festival Fringe ★★★★★
“Yes, you read correctly, the Galleon Theatre Company has stripped down the play to its bare elements and left out anything which disrupts the flow of the plot.” - News Shopper ★★★★
“This was great theatre.” - Theatre World Magazine
“Galleon Theatre Company's Hamlet is a marvellous feat.” - British Theatre Guide
“Bruce Jamieson’s production allows the enmities to stew then boil over at close quarters not just between the actors, but between the audience and the actors, this approach suits its environment perfectly.” - Broadway World
“Hamlet is a magnificent treat for eye and ear.” - Kentish Times
“The Galleon Theatre Company are masters at bringing to the stage works that provoke, inspire and entertain. This rendering of Shakespeare’s most oft quoted play is a perfect example of this. It is moody, atmospheric, beautifully presented and skilfully acted. Alice de Sousa (Producer) and Bruce Jamieson (Director) team up once more to provide an evening of brilliant theatre at their home, The Greenwich Playhouse.” - Theatre World Magazine
“Intimacy is very important and intentional on the part of director Bruce Jamieson as after stripping Hamlet down to the foundations you are left with a tightly scripted and well-acted domestic drama.” - News Shopper ★★★★
“An interesting and engaging production.” - Remotegoat
“Under director Bruce Jamieson’s gaze, this Hamlet hits the ground running and stays focused till the very end.” - Kentish Times
“A fabulous night of theatre. My advice, get yea to Greenwich Playhouse!” - Theatre World Magazine
“Galleon Theatre Company deliver an accessible, nuanced and faithful Hamlet that clearly reveals exactly why this play stands so high in the pantheon of English drama.” - Broadway World
“If you have seen Hamlet before then go and see this one and if you have never seen it before then this stripped down production is a great place to start.” - News Shopper ★★★★
“Jamieson and producer Alice De Sousa have put together a great show. The fact it’s over in two hours makes the show accessible, and the small stage and gripping performances prove in this case at least that less is more.” - playshakespeare.com★★★★
“Jamieson, his producer Alice De Sousa and their team have done a truly wonderful job on this production.” - Greenwich Visitor
“I’ve had the good fortune to see three productions of Hamlet so far this year and the best of the bunch was Galleon Theatre’s at Greenwich Playhouse.” - Greenwich Visitor
Image Gallery
Reviews:
Galleon Theatre Company has staged critically acclaimed theatre since 1989. Productions of the classics include:
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW by William Shakespeare
"With a cast that has no weaknesses the result is outstanding performances and a magical air of theatrical excellence.' - The Times
A DOLL'S HOUSE by Henrik Ibsen
"Bruce Jamieson's insightful revival of the Ibsen play, despite its 19th Century setting, always seems startlingly modern." - The Guardian
THE SEAGULL by Anton Chekhov
"Galleon has found the perfect intimate space in which to pull us right into Chekhov's milieu." - The Independent
MACBETH by William Shakespeare
"This is a spectacular and brilliantly-acted piece of work." - The Independent
