Grand Theft Hamlet

Out-of-work, UK actors Sam and Mark are in a pickle about what to do with their time in lockdown. Escaping into the violent online world of Grand Theft Auto V, they happen upon an amphitheatre. Inspired, they decide to mount a full production of Hamlet in the city of Los Santos, a perfect setting for Shakespeare’s blood-soaked tragedy. Together they conduct auditions, scout locations, and rehearse. Thus, the game’s afoot and the newly assembled troupe suffers the slings and arrows of producing virtual theatre: scheduling conflicts, technical difficulties, and the constant threat of a PvP ambush.

When the Bard wrote that “All the world’s a stage,” he certainly didn’t have the virtual world in mind, nor could he have imagined the cast of players ranging from professional actors with limited gaming experience to mechanically skilled Shakespearean noobs, a menagerie of eccentric avatars, including a mute stage manager and the unforgettable ParTebMosMir, a naked, green alien and agent of chaos who quotes from the Quran and handles security. Very funny, wildly inventive, and occasionally tragic, Grand Theft Hamlet celebrates the joy and community in creating art.

Delightful. Innovative, highly amusing and often touching.

Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter

A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed; hilarious, surreal and, yes, in its weird way, genuinely exciting.

5/5 Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian