FORTHCOMING THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS
AND OTHER PERFORMANCES
IN HONG KONG
AND OTHER PERFORMANCES
IN HONG KONG
ONE ACTOR PERFORMS A DOUBLE BILL OF HAMLET AND MACBETH
Experience William Shakespeare’s great masterpieces Hamlet and Macbeth performed as a double bill by one actor, in the McAulay Studio at the Hong Kong Arts Centre on May 6 and May 20 at 3pm. Each show will be followed by an Audience Q & A with actor and director William Mann.
Considered by many to be Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet is ordered by the ghost of his dead father to revenge his murder. Faced with the impossibility of the task, Hamlet’s world quickly breaks down into chaos and the boundaries between truth and deception, sanity and madness, life and death, start to unravel.
Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Tempted by the prophecy of three Witches that he will be king, Macbeth’s ambition drives him to betray everyone he knows and loves in his pursuit of absolute power, as he and Lady Macbeth lose themselves to passions of savagery and horror.
Director and actor William Mann describes his decision to play them together:
“I really think in many ways that Hamlet and Macbeth are mirror images of each other - which is why I want to present them together. Macbeth could be what Hamlet fears to become if he kills. They are both contacted by the supernatural and given a special revelation - but both react in completely different ways.”
“Where Hamlet is light, Macbeth is dark. Where Hamlet fears to tread, Macbeth plunges in. Whereas Hamlet tortured himself with the question of whether to kill or not to kill, Macbeth rushes into it, so for me it is fascinating to see these two portraits side-by-side.”
“Each play has been stripped and refined to concentrate the action solely on the inner world of the hero, where they suffer the agony and the ecstasy of their own thoughts, fears and visions.”
“The stage is a simple red carpet, with wooden staves and candles, and the actor barefoot in a black costume with coloured scarves to denote characters. To conjure in the mind's eye of the audience a sacred space where the actor alone is sole priest and participant in the passion play of the trial, suffering and death of the tragic hero.”
WHAT One Man Shakespeare “Hamlet and Macbeth” Performed and Directed by William Mann
SUMMARY William Shakespeare’s two great masterpieces presented as a double bill by one actor.
WHERE McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai
WHEN Sunday, May 6 and Sunday, May 20 at 15:00
TICKETS HK$250 / HK$125 (student, senior, group discounts) Tickets can be purchased online at www.onemanshakespeare.org
About William Mann
After directing and acting in over 20 Shakespeare productions in Europe, William Mann recently relocated to Hong Kong to premiere his One Man Shakespeare plays. After Hamlet and Macbeth, the plan is to present Shakespeare’s 4 greatest tragedies - Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear - as one complete tragic cycle. 3,200 lines - 29 characters - 4 plays - 1 actor.
Experience William Shakespeare’s great masterpieces Hamlet and Macbeth performed as a double bill by one actor, in the McAulay Studio at the Hong Kong Arts Centre on May 6 and May 20 at 3pm. Each show will be followed by an Audience Q & A with actor and director William Mann.
Considered by many to be Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet is ordered by the ghost of his dead father to revenge his murder. Faced with the impossibility of the task, Hamlet’s world quickly breaks down into chaos and the boundaries between truth and deception, sanity and madness, life and death, start to unravel.
Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Tempted by the prophecy of three Witches that he will be king, Macbeth’s ambition drives him to betray everyone he knows and loves in his pursuit of absolute power, as he and Lady Macbeth lose themselves to passions of savagery and horror.
Director and actor William Mann describes his decision to play them together:
“I really think in many ways that Hamlet and Macbeth are mirror images of each other - which is why I want to present them together. Macbeth could be what Hamlet fears to become if he kills. They are both contacted by the supernatural and given a special revelation - but both react in completely different ways.”
“Where Hamlet is light, Macbeth is dark. Where Hamlet fears to tread, Macbeth plunges in. Whereas Hamlet tortured himself with the question of whether to kill or not to kill, Macbeth rushes into it, so for me it is fascinating to see these two portraits side-by-side.”
“Each play has been stripped and refined to concentrate the action solely on the inner world of the hero, where they suffer the agony and the ecstasy of their own thoughts, fears and visions.”
“The stage is a simple red carpet, with wooden staves and candles, and the actor barefoot in a black costume with coloured scarves to denote characters. To conjure in the mind's eye of the audience a sacred space where the actor alone is sole priest and participant in the passion play of the trial, suffering and death of the tragic hero.”
WHAT One Man Shakespeare “Hamlet and Macbeth” Performed and Directed by William Mann
SUMMARY William Shakespeare’s two great masterpieces presented as a double bill by one actor.
WHERE McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai
WHEN Sunday, May 6 and Sunday, May 20 at 15:00
TICKETS HK$250 / HK$125 (student, senior, group discounts) Tickets can be purchased online at www.onemanshakespeare.org
About William Mann
After directing and acting in over 20 Shakespeare productions in Europe, William Mann recently relocated to Hong Kong to premiere his One Man Shakespeare plays. After Hamlet and Macbeth, the plan is to present Shakespeare’s 4 greatest tragedies - Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and King Lear - as one complete tragic cycle. 3,200 lines - 29 characters - 4 plays - 1 actor.
