The Hamlet Voyage
By Rex Obano
Year staged: 2022
Opening night: 16/07/2022
Theatre Company: Re:Verse Theatre
Staged in: Bristol Harbour (Festival)
Cast Size: 9
Synopsis
The Hamlet Voyage is a new play about the first record of Shakespeare being performed outside Europe: a production of Hamlet, acted by sailors in 1607 for West African dignitaries, during the first English voyage to reach Mughal India. A theatrical critique of the very beginnings of British colonial ambitions drawing on classical performance across three continents — from Shakespeare & sea shanties to West African storytelling & drumming to South Asian music & puppetry. This play examined a cross-cultural encounter that took place before England became deeply involved in the Atlantic slave trade, before the age of British imperialism, and before Shakespeare became a global name.
Original Cast
Ayodele Scott
Lucas Fernandes
Pauline Babula
Adama
Joe Feeney
George King
Eliot Giuralarocca
William Keeling
Danann McAleer
Edmund Buckbury
Adam Scott-Rowley
John Rogers
Natali Servat
Nur Mahal
Marieme Diouf
Musu
Ray Sesay
Prince Kpana
Ayodele Scott
Lucas Fernandes
Pauline Babula
Adama
Joe Feeney
George King
Eliot Giuralarocca
William Keeling
Danann McAleer
Edmund Buckbury
Adam Scott-Rowley
John Rogers
Natali Servat
Nur Mahal
Marieme Diouf
Musu
Ray Sesay
Prince Kpana
Production Team
Ben Prusiner
Director
Olivia Altaras
Set and Costume Designer
Anurupa Roy
Puppetry Director and Designer
Kwaku Ankomah
Producer
Jeevan Singh
Music Director
David Dravie-John
Movement Director
Joseph Bangura
Dramaturg (Temne Culture)
Laurence Publicover
Dramaturg (Shakespeare and Maritime History)
Jiamiao Chen
Researcher
Pamela Schermann
Consultant Producer
Neuza Pereira
Assistant Director / Assitant Designer
Ben Prusiner
Director
Olivia Altaras
Set and Costume Designer
Anurupa Roy
Puppetry Director and Designer
Kwaku Ankomah
Producer
Jeevan Singh
Music Director
David Dravie-John
Movement Director
Joseph Bangura
Dramaturg (Temne Culture)
Laurence Publicover
Dramaturg (Shakespeare and Maritime History)
Jiamiao Chen
Researcher
Pamela Schermann
Consultant Producer
Neuza Pereira
Assistant Director / Assitant Designer