Hamlet gets a contemporary twist in Darwin

Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy will be brought into the modern world in a bold new production of Hamlet at Charles Darwin University (CDU) Theatre this month.

Stripped back, intimate and contemporary, the production takes a play written more than 400 years ago and explores it through a distinctly modern lens where surveillance is everywhere, and nobody quite knows who they can trust.

Director Mark Bunnett said he wanted audiences to see beyond the famous soliloquies and images associated with the play and experience the people and relationships at the heart of the story.

“I want Hamlet to feel immediate, intimate and alive,” he said.

“This isn’t Shakespeare behind glass but a family falling apart, a young person dealing with grief and betrayal, and a world where nobody knows who they can trust.”

Central to this interpretation are the Watchers, an ever-present group often armed with mobile phones, inspired by the spying and observation woven throughout Shakespeare’s original play.

“Everyone is watching everyone else,” the director said.

“Our Watchers take something Shakespeare wrote 400 years ago and place it firmly in the world we live in now.”

He added the production also brings a LGBTQ lens to some of the relationships within Hamlet, exploring possibilities Shakespeare left “tantalisingly unresolved”.

While Shakespeare’s language remains, the play has been cut to around two hours, with the focus firmly on story, relationships and pace.

“If the actors know exactly what they’re saying and why they need to say it, Shakespeare becomes remarkably clear,” the director said. 

For audiences who know Hamlet mainly through “To be or not to be” and the image of a man holding a skull, it’s hoped viewers discover how funny, raw and unpredictable the play could be.

“Underneath those famous images are messy, complicated people trying to survive an extraordinary situation,” the director said.

“We still grieve, love, betray, question ourselves and wonder who we can trust. The technology has changed enormously; the emotional machinery hasn’t.

“Forget what you think Shakespeare is supposed to be and just come for the ride. This one is for you. It’s a thriller with a ghost, murder, sex, spying, betrayal, revenge, dysfunctional families and spectacularly bad decisions.”

The cast of local talent features Jack Macmillan, Justin Zammit, Petea Stark, Will Pyke, Michael van Berkel and CDU alumni Lyndal Carbery, Sarah Cullinan, Helen Nenke, Pip O’Shea, Sam Gallagher and director Mark Bunnett. 

Hamlet will be performed at CDU Theatre, Casuarina Campus from 7pm, 22 to 31 October 2026.

More information about the play and tickets are available.