Real-Life Family of Actors to Star in HAMLET at Park Theatre

Three members of one real-life family - father, son and wife - bring Hamlet's incestuous confusion of family life sharply into focus in a brand new production at Park Theatre. Starring Gyles Brandreth, Benet Brandreth and Kosha Engler, this take on Shakespeare's epic drama fixes the spotlight on the myriad ways families make and un-make themselves. The production runs 22 August - 16 September, with an official press night on Wednesday 30 August.

In Hamlet - an epic drama with domestic tragedy at its heart - two fathers, a mother and a step-father make impossible demands on their children; sometimes it is their care that strangles and suffocates, sometimes it is their deeds and their deceptions which destroy. Meanwhile the children test their parents by their actions and their inaction; by their madness, both real and assumed. Ultimately, two families are destroyed.

Gyles Brandreth is best known as an author, broadcaster and former MP, a reporter on The One Show (BBC1) and a regular on Just A Minute (Radio 4). As an actor, he has played Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Riverside Studios), starred in his own award-winning musical revue in the West End and appeared in three five-star sell-out one-man shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. His most recent London appearance was as Lady Bracknell in a musical version of The Importance of Being Earnest (Riverside Studios).

Author, Shakespearean rhetoric coach and Gyles' son, Benet Brandreth works regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Donmar Warehouse and others on Shakespeare's use of language. He has also written and performed for radio and the stage with his one-man show The Brandreth Papers at the Edinburgh Festival and its London transfer. He is also qualified as an instructor in the Filipino Martial Arts and as a stage combat choreographer.

Kosha Engler, wife of Benet, is a Baltimore-born actress, voice artist and writer. The voice of Maybelline UK since 2012, Kosha's television credits include the Emmy-winning Hoff the Record (2015) and The Wire (2002). Her film credits include The Man with the Iron Heart (2017), Moonshot 2009) and Tuck Everlasting (2002).

Set round a family dinner table, claustrophobic and intense, obsessed with family ties and filial duty, Hamlet will be directed by Simon Evans, whose previous productions include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Donmar Warehouse) and Midsummer Night's Dream ( Southwark Playhouse).

For more information, visit www.parktheatre.co.uk or call the Box office: 020 7870 6876*.

IF YOU GO:

HAMLET

Venue: Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, N4 3JP

Dates: 22 Aug - 16 Sep 2017

Press night: Wednesday 30 August

Running Time: 90 minutes

Performances: Tue - Sat Evenings 7.45pm, Thu & Sat Matinees 3.15pm

Captioned: Wed 6 Sept 19.45

Prices: £14.50 Previews / £18 Full / £16.50 Concessions/ £13 Child/ £10 Young Patrons
Booking: www.parktheatre.co.uk / 020 7870 6876

*10% telephone booking fee, capped at £2.50 per ticket.

Park Theatre is fast becoming recognised as a powerhouse of theatre; in just under four years, it has enjoyed three West End transfers (including Daytona starring Maureen Lipman and The Boys in the Band starring Mark Gatiss), two National Theatre transfers, ten national tours, an Olivier Award nomination and a Theatre of the Year award from The Stage.

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