A tragicomic exploration of Hamlet’s unseen fool
Excavating the untold story of Yorick, the deceased court jester and famous skull in Hamlet, George Rennie’s soul-searching solo show, Hamstrung, flips Shakespeare’s most performed play on its head to reflect on comedy, ambition and the search for a performer’s identity.
Following a critically acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe, this high-spirited, existential ghost story uncovers the hidden tale of the King’s personal entertainer, asking whose stories get to be told and reclaiming tragedy for the quirky and queer.
Yorick is waiting in the wings. Or is it purgatory? After stumbling upon Elsinore through a mysterious door, an ill-fated attempt to reignite Hamlet’s theatrical spark rekindles long-buried passion of Yorick’s own, blurring the line between performance and personal truth as he accidentally wreaks havoc on the Danish court.
With audience interaction, heartfelt songs and light-footed humour, Hamstrung weaves in and out of Shakespeare’s narrative, shedding new light on the events of the original and exposing the precarity and invisibility of history’s forgotten fools.
George says: “It’s so exciting to be bringing this playful, twisted and beautiful story back to a stage in London after the madness of Edinburgh Fringe. The negative space around Yorick has so much to say about status and identity in the performing arts, and his manic drive to make people laugh at whatever cost captures the existential angst underlying many comic performers. I can’t wait to dazzle and provoke audiences and hope that people feel the full spectrum of emotions with him, from mirth to madness to melancholy.”
Written, Performed and Produced by George Rennie
Director Lisa Millar.
The Glitch, 134 Lower Marsh, London, SE1 7AE 11th-16th June, 19:00 (and 14:00 on 14th June) 60 minutes.
£10-£20
Age Guidance 14+
Booking: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/vaultcreativearts/1623130
