Hashima Hamlet

Two bodies on stage.

The first is a contemporary rhapsodist who recounts the story of Prince Hamlet through a paper theatre that he carries with him on his travels. He is a travelling storyteller, a profession inherited from his mother, who is now on the brink of death; she can hardly speak or move any more. Standing before the audience, the storyteller is considering giving up his profession following his mother’s disappearance.

The second body is that of the director, the playwright. Through ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging, he creates the characters and settings that come together at Elsinore Castle, so that the mother of the first body, the rhapsodist, can recall what her life once was.

This is a production that combines object theatre and kamishibai, the Japanese paper theatre, which explores that intimate relationship with the ephemeral nature of the world. Ephemeral in nature, and perhaps in memory too.

The creators, Gon Ramos and Javier Ruiz de Alegría, have previously collaborated on works such as La familia no and Ciclos. Ramos has trained artistically under Claudia Castellucci, Alberto Conejero, María Velasco and Mauricio Kartun, amongst others. Ruiz de Alegría, an actor and set designer, has worked with directors such as Angélica Liddell, Lluis Pascual, Mariano Barroso and Sergio Peris-Mencheta.