Driftwood Theatre Group Takes HAMLET Across Ontario, Beginning Today

Driftwood Theatre Group is proud to present HAMLET, the world's most famous play, like you've never seen it before. Driftwood's summer tour will feature a thrilling new adaptation of HAMLET by Toby Malone which is unpredictable, unsettling and downright dangerous.

From today, July 9, through August 16, The Bard's Bus Tour will bring this electrifying revenge-thriller to 27 locations across Ontario in 39 days. The Bard's Bus Tour has brought professional pay-what-you-can performances of classic plays to outdoor locations in small towns and city neighbourhoods across the province for 21 years.

HAMLET marks Toby Malone's sixth season as a collaborator with the Driftwood Theatre Group. With a PhD in Shakespearean adaptation and performance, Toby used the structure of the rarely-performed First ("Bad") Quarto (1603) and the textual content of the iconic First Folio (1623) to create this version of HAMLET. He has also worked with companies including the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, Soulpepper, Canadian Stage and the Bell Rock Company (Scotland).

D. Jeremy Smith (Director) is the Driftwood Theatre Group founder and Artistic Director. He has directed, performed in, designed and painted over 25 productions for the company. Select theatre credits include Northern Lights, Eastern Fire (Canadian Sinfonietta), The Odyssey and A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Grand Theatre), Memorial (Next Stage Theatre Festival 2013), and Pélagie (Assistant Director, Canadian Stage/National Arts Centre).

HAMLET stars Soulpepper Theatre company member and Dora Award winner Paolo Santalucia (Of Human Bondage, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) as Hamlet; National Theatre School Graduate, Natasha Mumba (The Changeling, A Midsummer Night's Dream) as Ophelia; Jon de Leon (Stratford Festival, Every Letter Counts, Factory Theatre) as Claudius; poet, playwright and actor Nehassaiu deGannes (Stratford Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre) as Gertrude; founding member of Driftwood Theatre Group Steven Burley (seventeen seasons) as Guildenstern; Dora Award-winning Richard Alan Campbell (War of 1812, VideoCabaret, two seasons with Driftwood) as Polonius; four-time Rideau Award nominee Sarah Finn (This Is War, GCTC) as Horatio, and Christopher Darroch (six seasons with Driftwood) as Laertes.

HAMLET is the ultimate tragedy framed in a world dominated by the politics of fear. Newcomers to HAMLET and Shakespearean aficionados will delight in this version; a perfect match for Driftwood's inventive theatrical style and magical outdoor settings. This is HAMLET with the brakes off!

Founded in 1995, Driftwood Theatre Group is Ontario's first and longest-running outdoor touring theatre tradition. Working with the best emerging and established artists today, the annual Bard's Bus Tour travels to parks and heritage sites across the province, focusing on communities with little or no access to professional theatre. Believing that great theatre is only of value if an audience has access to it, Driftwood Theatre Group's annual Bard's Bus Tour is always Pay-What-You-Can admission.

Driftwood Theatre Group presents HAMLET, The Bard's Bus Tour, running July 9 - August 16, 2015. All performances start at 7:30PM. Admission is Pay-What-You-Can ($20 suggested). Reservations can be purchased at $20/person by calling 416.703.2773 X246 or online at www.driftwoodtheatre.com.

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