Shakespeare & Company will perform William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” at the University of Maine at Presque Isle on March 13. The event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Gauvin Family Center for Cultural Arts in Wieden Hall. Admission is free and open to both campus and community members.
The performance will be followed by a brief talk-back session with troupe members, giving the audience an opportunity to discuss the play and its themes.
Kevin G. Coleman, who directs “Hamlet” and serves as Shakespeare & Company’s Director of Education, explained that touring productions help bring the play closer to audiences: “It’s a story that asks enormous questions about truth, justice, and what it means to act—and sharing those ideas with students and audiences across the region reminds us how alive and relevant Shakespeare remains,” he said. “And that’s our goal; to make Shakespeare immediate and accessible and to show students that these stories aren’t dusty relics, but living, breathing conversations about being human.”
Coleman also noted that performing “Hamlet” on tour connects with how such plays were originally staged: “performed up close, with energy, humor, and heart.”
The appearance is part of Shakespeare & Company’s Northeast Regional Tour. This tour is one aspect of their theater-in-education program, which has been recognized by organizations including the MacArthur Foundation, GE Foundation, and The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a “Champion of Change.”
Founded in 1978, Shakespeare & Company operates year-round from Lenox, Massachusetts. Each year it welcomes over 60,000 patrons to its performances. Its education programs reach more than 40,000 students annually through performances, workshops, and residencies.
More information about Shakespeare & Company can be found at www.shakespeare.org. For details about the UMPI performance or related questions contact 207-768-9525 or emma.mcnally@maine.edu.
