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a unique retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved classics adapted and performed by celebrated actor Raoul Bhaneja

Raoul Bhaneja; Photo by Andrew Kenneth Martin

Hamlet (solo)

By Raoul Bhaneja

This thrilling evening focuses on the three most essential elements of theatre: The Actor, The Text and The Audience. This production is best described as “bare bones” in its presentation with Bhaneja playing seventeen parts in a two-hour version using only Shakespeare’s text.

In describing his one-man version of Hamlet, Bhaneja says, “For many of us, our most powerful experience with the play Hamlet occurred on our first reading of it – outside of the theatre – where we, alone, had to conjure up the setting, characters and drama. With this production, the audience is guided through the actual text, almost in the way an ancient storyteller might do, where the actor/storyteller provides an outline of a character upon which the viewer extrapolates.”

Production History

Hamlet (solo) opened January 4, 2006 at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto for an extended run and later went on to be performed in New York, The Banff Centre for the Arts and Montreal, where it won the 2006 Montreal English Critics award for Best Visiting Production.

Since it premiered Hamlet (solo) has been performed over 150 times in 20 cities in North America and The UK including The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Off Broadway at The United Solo Festival and in season at The National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada.  The first professional presentation of Hamlet in the North West Territories, it has travelled to most major centers in Canada from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia as well as several presentations in New York City and Stratford upon avon in the U.K.  Most recent presentations were at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto as part of their 2024 season, Redhouse Arts Center in Syracuse, New York and The Shakespeare Company in Calgary, Alberta. 

 

Directed by Brooklyn based OBIE Award Winner Robert Ross Parker, the production has received rave reviews across Canada, in the UK from top entertainment papers THE LIST and THE STAGE and in the USA from NYTHEATRE.COM and BACKSTAGE.

Hamlet (solo) the production is available for touring through Hope in Hell Productions & Marquis Entertainment Inc. 

Production Facts

  • Winner - Montreal English Critics Circle Award for Best Visiting Production

  • Winner - Best Actor 2022 United Solo Festival, New York