« There are more things in heaven and hearth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. » William Shakespeare

When I start a new creation, I first of all look for the right soil: where do the soldier Woyzeck or the brothers Karamazov live today? Who can understand – not in an intellectual way, but through direct knowledge – the trajectory of Agamemnon or Ophelia? For Hamlet, I went to meet people who have had so-called ‘psychotic’ experiences: understanding of voices, hallucinations, perceptual disturbances, memory loss. As the invisible is the central theme of the play, I needed to bring together a team that was sensitive to this subject.

In Shakespeare’s work, there is a clear indication of the meaning of the theatrical act. Like therapy for the treatment of the phantom limb, illusion awakens memory – a formidable force acting on the present – and brings out the truth. So, in perfect baroque style, I chose to show the whole of the theatrical machinery: the lights, the walls, the costume changes, the training and the inevitable mistakes – as well as myself, the stage director, directing the actors in front of the audience. The artifice is on view, disturbing, in the strength of its reality.

HAMLET
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Luca Giacomoni
Translation Jean-Michel Déprats
Dramaturgy Sarah Di Bella
With Olivier Constant, Laure Darras, Valérie Dréville, Élodie Franques, Tarik Kariouh, Nathalie Morazin, Serge Nail, Vicente Olivier, Édouard Penaud, Fabrice Pesle, Louis Plesse, Quentin Vernede
Assistant directors Paola Pelagalli, Leïla Blier
In collaboration with Agnès Adam and Giuseppina Comito
Knife dance Davide Monaco
Costumes Cécile Laborda
Stage objects Jacopo Leone
Lighting design Bartolo Filippone

Production Why Theatre / In partnership with the GHU Paris Psychiatry and Neurosciences / Co-production by Monfort Théâtre (Paris) and Festival d’Automne à Paris / With the support of Île-de-France Region, City of Paris, DRAC Île-de-France, Meyer Foundation for Cultural and Artistic Development, Fondation de France, Humanités, Digital et Numérique Foundation, L’Accompagnatrice Foundation / With the participation of the Jeune Théâtre National (Paris) / Creative residencies at Nouveau Gare au Théâtre (Vitry-sur-Seine), at Monfort Théâtre (Paris), at Le Préau, CDN de Normandie-Vire, at La Villette (Paris), at Carreau du Temple (Paris), at T2G – Théâtre de Gennevilliers CDN, at Ménagerie de Verre (Paris)

Duration : 2h15