Shakespeare's story of incestuous marriage, fraternal homicide and slow, agonizing revenge gets a makeover this weekend, when England's Big Cheese Acting Troupe brings Hamlet, The Musical to the stage of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on the first stop of its two-week nation-wide tour.
The tale that is set to unfold is a wee bit different from that penned by the Bard, however.
Packed with parody, slapstick comedy and a good dose of farce, Hamlet, The Musical sees the Danish prince donning his pantyhose and baggy doublet in what has been dubbed by critics as "a sub-operatic" re-working of Shakespeare's original play.
Penned by Alex Silverman and Ed Jasper during their final year at university in Cambridge, England, the show received rapturous applause when it premiered at the Edinburgh Festival last year.
While the show is a musical, audiences shouldn't expect period music. The play's score is as warped as the comedic story line itself. Performed by a live band, the music includes a feast of jazzy numbers, boy-band-ish tunes, country, 80s power ballads, Disney kitsch, Barbershop a cappella and even a Broadway-styled Madonna moment.
In addition to the offbeat score, other oddities, such as the glitzy 70s disco mirror ball that acts as prop, ensure all seriousness is stripped away from the original Elizabethan play.
The Big Cheese's production might vary from the original, but Shakespeare purists should find plenty to entertain them. The play still manages to include all the gritty trappings of Shakespeare's tragic tale of murder, incest and haunted battlements.
Before heading off on his nation-wide tour, the rockin `n' rolling Prince of Denmark will be appearing on stages in Taipei tomorrow night and Sunday at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (台北國父紀念館).
Tickets cost from NT$300 through NT$1,200 and are available from ERA ticketing outlets nationwide, or direct from the venue's ticketing offices. For a full list of performance times and venues log on to www.dadaarts.com.tw
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