Artist Collective Theatre is proud to present Peter Eliot Weiss‘s The Haunted House Hamlet, directed by Amanda Liz Cutting, playing October 27-31 at A/maze Escape Room.
Would you revenge the death of your father if his ghost told you to? When a troubled teen breaks into an abandoned building, he discovers a group of ghosts amidst the random objects doomed to perform Hamlet until the end of time. "The Haunted House Hamlet alters the normal relationship between the actors and the audience. We are trying to rediscover the spirit of the original Shakespearian play which is, after all, a ghost story full of 'carnal slaughter and unnatural acts.' We also want this production to be accessible and relevant to a contemporary audience" (qtd. from Weiss, Peter Eliot. The Haunted House Hamlet: An Adaptation of Shakespeare's Classic).
The Haunted House Hamlet was written in 1986 and first premiered in Vancouver at the Tamahnous Theatre. The production has been performed only a select few times due to its complexity of script. "It’s basically 4 hours of text performed simultaneously by 8 artists on three stages" says Cutting, "the result is each actor is a one man show that audience members can wander through. The show even comes with a map for the actors – it’s that complex". Haunted House Hamlet has been compared to infamous immersive show Sleep no more in NYC in style, although this script was created long before.
The script has been adapted to bring life back into not only the ghostly characters but also the humor that is present in Hamlet.
ACT and A/maze chose to partner to produce this haunting production for Halloween as an immersive theatrical experience. It’s an exclusive event, with only 30 tickets a show, this offers Calgarians more than a dance party or standard escape room experience – it’s a show you can see 5 times and still not see it all! "A/maze was the place we wanted to be, with its curio Voltaire cabaret style themed room and exposed brick, it set the perfect mood" says Kaleigh Richards, Marketing Director of ACT.
Show times are 8 pm and 10:30 pm October 27-31. Tickets are $35.00 and comes with a complimentary beverage. Limited to 30 guests per time.
http://www.acttheatre.ca
