Denmark. 2 a.m. A hotel room. Three weary travelers, an unexpected will, and a production of Hamlet to rehearse before morning.
Humor and tragedy converge in “Hotel Elsinore,” a new play about the challenges of relationships, forgiveness, and Shakespeare. This UGA Presents event runs one night only — Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Morton Theatre.
A real-life family plays the bereaved loved ones of the once-great actor Henry Elder, who was scheduled to perform his career-defining solo “Hamlet” at the Elsinore Shakespeare Festival. As they discover, Elder is determined to not let anything as inconvenient as death prevent him from being there. With Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” as the spindle the family’s story revolves around, this award-winning play is by turns both absurd and poignant.
British/Canadian playwright Susanna Hamnett appears with her two adult artist children, Joshua MacGregor and Lily MacGregor, after a successful 2022 run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
“I love thinking of new and unexpected ways to explore Shakespeare’s plays,” Hamnett said. “And the idea for ‘Hotel Elsinore’ came from thinking about ‘Hamlet.’ This new play was made with my son, Joshua, and daughter, Lily, and a lot of the work was done during the COVID-19 lockdowns when we were all living together. We had been thinking about making something together for a long time, and our conversations would keep coming back to the idea of a story that somehow revolved around the themes of ‘Hamlet.’”
This performance is supported by Jim and Carol Warnes.
Three ways to get tickets
- Purchase tickets online at pac.uga.edu.
- Call the Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Visit the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (five-minute parking is available in the drop off circle at the Performing Arts Center for purchasing or picking up tickets.)
To learn more about all UGA Performing Arts Center events, visit pac.uga.edu.