We’ve never seen Hamlet before….
This is both this reviewer’s first and later take-away thought.
Most theater regulars might have to move from fingers to toes to count the number of productions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet they have seen. When a new production gets us to keenly focus anew on the play there is some secret sauce at work. In this reviewer’s estimation that secret sauce is the inimitable performance by Hiran Abeysekera in the title role. While we might know the blow-by-blow of the Hamlet plot, by heart in fact, it is Abeysekera who invites us into the title character’s interior world as no other, in this reviewer’s opinion.
Abeysekera is certainly helped by costume designer Ben Stones attiring him in a Blockbuster Video sweatshirt at times, and a cap you are used to seeing on the bro hanging out on the corner. It is Abeysekera though who makes us think his cut up nature might come from being so deep into meme culture that he assumes we all live there. He peppers almost every one of his dialogue lines with a wink, glance or eye roll, often with fleeting check in on us— the audience— that says without saying— Hey, did you see that? But when he is delivering one of the so famous soliloquies of his role, we get the sense that he is ever playing with timing and delivery to keep it fresh.
In this performance—
To be or not to be…that is the question..
Became-
To be or not…
To be, that is the question…
It’s in this way that Abeysekera keeps us hungry for more. Granted it’s cliché, but this reviewer would subtitle this Abeysekera-centered Hamlet production — “Hey, I’m Hamlet, Welcome to My World.”
Start of Brooklyn Academy of Music/National Theatre Partnership
There are many other standout features of this imported National Theatre production. You too might feel that top-notch Shakespearean actress Francesca Mills zipping back and forth across the stage as the unraveling Ophelia is acutely mindful of using her little person height to bottle her character both as a force and vulnerable. Director Robert Hastie’s choice to set the story in a more modern day truly works— especially in the ghost scene and the play within a play.
Happily, this Hamlet is the first of a multi-year cooperative plan between National Theatre and BAM. Expect to leave the theater hungry for more…
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
CAST:
Hiran Abeysekera (Hamlet), Maureen Beattie (First Player), Joe Bolland (Guildenstern), Matthew Cottle (Polonius), Tim Dewberry (Marcellus/Captain), Ayesha Dharker (Gertrude), Ryan Ellsworth (Ghost/Player King/First Gravedigger), Tom Glenister (Laertes), Mary Higgins (Osric/Voltemand), Liz Jadav (Nurse/Priest), Kiren Kebaili-Dwyer (Fortinbras), Hari Mackinnon (Rosecrantz), Francesca Mills (Ophelia), Sophia Papadopoulos (Cornelius/English Ambassador/Second Gravedigger), Alistair Petrie (Claudius), Seb Slade (Francisco/Reynaldo), Noel White (Bernardo), Tessa Wong (Horatio)
CREATIVE TEAM:
William Shakespeare (Writer), Robert Hastie (Director), Ben Stones (Set & Costume Designer), Jessica Hung Han Yun (Lighting Designer), Alexandra Faye Braithwaite (Sound Designer), Richard Taylor (Composer), Ira Mandela Siobhan (Movement/Choreographer), Kate Waters (Fight Director), Georgie Straight (Associate Director), Alastair Coomer (Casting), Martin Poile (Casting)
WHEN:
April 19 - May 17, 2026
WHERE:
Harvey Theater at BAM
651 Fulton St.
Brooklyn, NY 11217
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About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
