Alas, she's mad!                           Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.                           …what is this quintessence of dust?                           Not so, my lord, I am too much in the sun.                           O that this too too solid flesh would melt…                           My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent…                           Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damned incest.                           To die, to sleep––To sleep, perchance to dream–– ay, there's the rub…                           He was a man, take him for all in all…                           Hamlet, so art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear.                           These are but wild and whirling words.                           I doubt it is no other but the main, Her father's death and our o'erhasty marriage.                           A little more than kin, and less than kind.                           Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister…                           Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz.                           For in that sleep of death what dreams may come…                           There's never a villain dwelling in all Denmark But he's an arrant knave.                           How should I your true love-know From another one?                           Thrift, thrift, Horatio, the funeral bak’d meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.                           Ay, sir, to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick’d out of ten thousand.                           Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me.                           Thou know'st 'tis common, all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.                           Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins rememb’red.                           I shall the effect of this good lesson keep As watchman to my heart.                           More matter with less art.                          With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole, Taken to wife…                           O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!                           Neither a borrower nor a lender be…                                                     O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a queen of infinite space––were it not that I have bad dreams.                           The time is out of joint––O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!                           Words, words, words.                           There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.                           My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.                           O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!                           For look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within’s two hours.                           This above all: to thine own self be true…                           Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc’d it to you, trippingly on the tongue…                           Angels and ministers of grace defend us!                           "Hamlet is a princess, out of thy star; This must not be"…                           O, woe is me T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!                           Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident.                           You cannot take from me any thing that I will not more willingly part withal—except my life…                           I will speak daggers to her, but use none.                           I would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father died.                           What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god.                           Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go.                           Will you play upon this pipe?                           Could beauty have better commerce than with honesty?                           Your Majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not.                           Mad as the sea and wind when both contend Which is the mightier.                           I have of late––but wherefore I know not––lost all my mirth…                           O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven…                           Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in's own house.                           Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended. …what is this quintessence of dust? Not so, my lord, I am too much in the sun. O that this too too solid flesh would melt… My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent… Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damned incest. To die, to sleep––To sleep, perchance to dream–– ay, there's the rub… He was a man, take him for all in all… Hamlet, so art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. These are but wild and whirling words. I doubt it is no other but the main, Her father's death and our o'erhasty marriage. A little more than kin, and less than kind. Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister… Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz. For in that sleep of death what dreams may come… There's never a villain dwelling in all Denmark But he's an arrant knave. How should I your true love-know From another one? Thrift, thrift, Horatio, the funeral bak’d meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. Ay, sir, to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man pick’d out of ten thousand. Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me. Thou know'st 'tis common, all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity. Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins rememb’red. I shall the effect of this good lesson keep As watchman to my heart. More matter with less art. With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole, Taken to wife… O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! Neither a borrower nor a lender be… O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a queen of infinite space––were it not that I have bad dreams. The time is out of joint––O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right! Words, words, words. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go. O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! For look you how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within’s two hours. This above all: to thine own self be true… Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc’d it to you, trippingly on the tongue… Angels and ministers of grace defend us! "Hamlet is a princess, out of thy star; This must not be"… O, woe is me T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see! Grief joys, joy grieves, on slender accident. You cannot take from me any thing that I will not more willingly part withal—except my life… I will speak daggers to her, but use none. I would give you some violets, but they wither’d all when my father died. What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties; in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god. Madness in great ones must not unwatch’d go. Will you play upon this pipe? Could beauty have better commerce than with honesty? Your Majesty, and we that have free souls, it touches us not. Mad as the sea and wind when both contend Which is the mightier. I have of late––but wherefore I know not––lost all my mirth… O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven… Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the fool nowhere but in's own house.

Productions

Picture

Hamlet:  

Nov. 30th - Dec. 17th 2011 @ The Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont Street, Boston        Click here for dates & times, directions, and venue information

The inaugural production of The Psych Drama Company will be a contemporary, psychology-driven interpretation of Hamlet, using Shakespeare's original language but playing extensively with subtext. Original music composed by Boston indie band Varsity Drag will add to the play's contemporary, edgy feel.

To live balanced, productive lives and to sustain healthy relationships, we all must balance the need to reflect with the need to act. This Hamlet production will explore this necessary dialectical tension between reflection and action within and between all of the characters in the play. We will study how the loss of this necessary dialectic leads to a deterioration in the individual characters' psyches and in their relationships with one another, inevitably leading to the tragedy that unfolds. As we explore subtext, this production of Hamlet will also delve deeply into the multiple facets of the personalities of the characters and the complexities of competing agendas and loyalties in the relationships they have with one another.
 
Our production features a female bisexual Hamlet. As such, the oedipal dynamics between Hamlet and Gertrude remain intact. For both the heterosexual male and the homosexual female, the original childhood love object remains the same: it is the mother. Furthermore, when Hamlet is a woman, her feelings about Gertrude and Ophelia are inextricably bound up with her own self-loathing.
 
Our production takes place in the present day. It takes place in an exceedingly wealthy, emotionally disturbed family with the few social connections that surround them. They have created an isolated world based on archaic, irrelevant titles and bizarre family rituals that are, at times, quite divorced from reality. There must be a reckoning with ghost(s) from the past: "remember me." The location is anywhere, everywhere.

Come reflect on Hamlet like you never have before. Come reflect on yourself.

The Psych Drama Company combines psychological insight with dramatic art
to explore the timeless complexities of the human soul.



© 2011 The Psych Drama Company/Pandora’s Box Productions, Inc.