Dada Masilo / The Dance Factory (ZA)
Dada Masilo’s HAMLET

Here comes HAMLET! Following worldwide successes with reinterpretations of Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Swan Lake, Giselle and, most recently celebrated at Volkstheater, THE SACRIFICE, Dada Masilo presents her highly individual version of the wordiest of Shakespeare’s dramas on the world’s wide stage: at ImPulsTanz, it’s the stage of Burgtheater, to be precise. “Hamlet is a gloomy piece”, the South African star choreographer says, but “with a dash of black humour”. The main themes are the deceptive appearances of what is being said – and done – as well as evil intrigue: for example, Prince Hamlet’s betrayal of Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern or Polonius, and Uncle Claudius’ betrayal of King Hamlet. Masilo assigns herself the role of Ophelia, and she lets some of the female roles be played by men and male figures by women. Her HAMLET is a theatre performance with dance, singing, a violin and percussion. She radically trimmed the amount of words, thereby conjuring up a contemporary, universally comprehensible piece from the weighty classic.