Un Hamlet de moins

Trapped within Shakespeare’s play for 420 years, four young people (Hamlet, Horatio, Ophelia and Laertes) find themselves torn between the demands of their parents, their kingdom and their audience. In this way, Un Hamlet de moins explores different layers of meaning and plot threads: the importance of images and play, the fear of being judged, and the use of oblivion to erase crimes and create a present that is as pure as it is unbelievable.

The Théâtre des 13 vents, affiliated with the Centre Dramatique National de Montpellier, has an intriguing set of ten principles in its mission statement, which includes: “You’ve got to be an idiot to do theatre.” An idiot, according to this company, because you have to share and discuss contradictions in order to tackle a poem on stage. They also maintain that actors are explorers of the human condition who view plays as battlefields.

Nathalie Garraud and Olivier Saccomano, director and playwright of Un Hamlet de moins, have been co-directing the Théâtre des 13 vents since 2018. Their trilogy Spectres de l’Europe was very well received at international festivals. Nathalie Garraud’s experience in Palestinian refugee camps and with international cooperation projects complements Saccomano’s PhD in philosophy. The result is one of the most fascinating duos in contemporary French theatre and thought.