The Wilma Theater's HAMLET Begins Tonight

The Wilma will produce what many believe to be the greatest play written by Shakespeare, and many others consider the greatest play written in the English language.

The fight for the throne of Denmark, quest for moral righteousness, and complexities of vengeance will be reexamined on our stage with resonances to contemporary society. The title character in Shakespeare's tragedy will be played by the powerful actress Zainab Jah, who appeared as Prudence in last season's production of The Convert. Immediately following Hamlet, the Wilma will stage Tom Stoppard's now classic behind-the-scenes comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, both directed by Wilma Artistic Director Blanka Zizka and using the same company of actors.

Hamlet begins tonight, March 25, 2015; opens on Wednesday, April 1, 2015; and has been extended through Sunday, April 26, 2015 due to popular demand.

Critics and members of the press are invited to attend Press Night on Wednesday, April 1, at 7:30pm. For ticket arrangements, contact Sara Madden at smadden@wilmatheater.org or 215.893.9456 x102.

When asked about her choice to cast Zainab Jah in the role of Hamlet, Blanka Zizka stated, "I needed an actor who I could trust and who would trust me and who was willing to work in the physical way I approach rehearsals-experimenting and improvising, without fear. I knew I needed an actor who possessed great presence and could easily transform onstage. I made a list of actors I would like to see working with me and it eventually became very clear to me that Zainab was going to be my Hamlet. She embodies the qualities I'm looking for in an actor exactly. In my production, Hamlet is not going to change gender because he's played by a woman, rather, I expect that Zainab is going to transform into Hamlet."

The Wilma's productions of Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead demonstrate Artistic Director Blanka Zizka's evolving vision to create work around a company of artists, incorporating training and ensemble building to further develop the talents of the Philadelphia acting community. The company of actors for both productions was selected through a rigorous two-week workshop with Stemwerk master vocal teacher Jean-René Toussaint. Prior to the commencement of formal rehearsal, company members were involved in further training with Toussaint, as well as workshops with Theodoros Terzopoulos from Attis Theatre in Greece, Ivana Jocic of Troubelyn Theatre in Belgium, and fight choreographer Ian Rose. Warm-ups and exercises from the training workshops are incorporated into each day's rehearsal schedule.

Incorporating graffiti by Street Artist CERA into the set, Matt Saunder's design evokes a modern sensibility within a classic text. Paired with contemporary costumes with an Elizabethan flair by Vasilija Zivanic, and original, contemporary musical themes composed by Alex Games and Emma Violet, Zizka has collaborated with a design team to create a physical and aural world for the play in which corrupt royalty is surrounded by decaying society.

The focus of the direction of this production was a deliberate one. The Wilma's Dramaturg and Literary Manager, Walter Bilderback, explains, "Hamlet is a play of edges, of borders. The play sits uneasily astride divides: young and the old, feudalism and Renaissance humanism, Catholicism and Protestantism, individual subjectivity and social involvement. In cutting the play an important decision was that we wanted our Hamlet to be about Hamlet within his society. This meant paying attention to Polonius, Laertes, Horatio, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Fortinbras, as well as the "Hamlet family," and giving some priority to the passages dealing with Danish society and politics (many of which also imagine a degraded natural world). I think we have found a political and psychological thriller at the heart of Hamlet."

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