PCS Theater is thrilled to announce its upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” opening on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at Players Club of Swarthmore. The tragic tale of Prince Hamlet is being helmed by PCS’s own Matthew Carter and aims to draw audiences into a haunted and beautiful world of lies, luxury, and bloodlust.
Scott Berkowitz as the eponymous Prince Hamlet.
The production stars Scott Berkowitz as the eponymous Prince Hamlet. Berkowitz returns to PCS after he was last seen in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Opposite him is Aaron Wexler as Hamlet’s uncle, the newly crowned King Claudius. Aaron makes his PCS debut with Hamlet, a play which he has dreamed of performing in for some time. Karen R. Johnson (last seen as the titular character in The Skriker on Second Stage) portrays Hamlet’s mother Queen Gertrude. Johnson, a frequent and valued player at PCS, was also the director behind last year’s production of On Golden Pond on the mainstage.
Portraying Hamlet’s closest friend and ally, Horatio, is Courtney Bundens (Snyder the Spider in Newsies), while Kayla Bowe (who just directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the mainstage) makes her PCS acting debut as Hamlet’s childhood crush Ophelia. Rounding out the cast are Dan Jankauskas (Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Ophelia’s headstrong younger brother Laertes and Jim Fryer (Guys and Dolls) as the late King Hamlet—whose presence still haunts the dark corridors of Elsinore in the night.
The talented cast also includes John B Hedges as Claudius’s advisor Polonius, Vinnie Emilianowicz and Autumn Scouten as the iconic Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and an ensemble of hilarious and talented individuals who bring life to Elsinore’s various helpers, colorful visitors, and members of the court (this includes Ryan Mattox, Miriam Walton, Arlowe Willingham, and Hannah Johnson).
The show’s director, Carter, explains the thought process behind the Victorian gothic aesthetic within the show has been set:
When I read through a show to decide how it ‘looks’, I kind of try to think about what its ‘driving force’ is. In Hamlet, I kept coming back to this hunger–some aching need to indulge in the messiest, scariest impulses that we have. Hamlet develops a literal lust for blood, but he is not the only one who must battle with whether or not to give in to their violent urges. The play felt vampiric to me, like Elsinore itself almost hungers for its residence to indulge themselves, take their vengeances, seize their power, be unruly and messy and cast aside all of this courtly nonsense. The longer they resist, the more difficult it becomes. It reminded me of the Gothic era, this romanticization of tragedy, and indulgence. So, this Elsinore becomes a gothic mansion, but also coated in all of this white and black imagery. Elsinore is haunted, not just by a traditional spirit that stalks its dark corridors, but by the very memory of what’s happened here. A funeral and a marriage so close together, it’s blasphemous, and by draping the set in marital imagery we see what Hamlet sees–a cruel reminder that the tragedy that took place is being dressed up in florals and bows. But the gossamer white veils that hang from the walls can only hide reality for so long. Something has to give, hungers have to be indulged, and the truth will eventually be revealed through all the beautiful falsehoods. – Director Matthew Carter
Performance Dates:
- Friday, October 25th – 7:30 PM
- Saturday, October 26th – 7:30 PM
- Sunday, October 27th – 2:00 PM
- Friday, November 1st – 7:30 PM
- Saturday, November 2nd – 2:00 PM
- Saturday, November 2nd – 7:30 PM
- Sunday, November 3rd – 2:00 PM (Post Show Talk Back with Staff and Actors)
- Thursday, November 7th – 2:00 PM
- Friday, November 8th – 7:30 PM
- Saturday, November 9th – 7:30 PM
Location:
PCS Theater, 614 Fairview Rd, Swarthmore, PA 19081
Box Office: 610-328-4271 | Email: tickets@pcstheater.org
Tickets are now available for purchase. $12.99 – $19.99 including fees. To reserve your seats, visit www.pcstheater.org or contact the box office at 610-328-4271 or via email at tickets@pcstheater.org.