Coming to a park near you
A Company of Fools is tackling Shakespeare’s most iconic play! Opening this July, a Company
of Fools is presenting Hamlet on an eight-week tour of over forty parks across Ottawa and
beyond.
Whether you’re a Shakespeare nerd or this is your first foray with the Bard since high school, our foolish take on Hamlet has something for everyone.
WHEN: July 3rd – August 26th
TIME: Monday-Saturday at 7 pm.
WHERE: Andrew Haydon Park on Wednesday, July 5th, 2023 & Glabar Park on Tuesday,
August 1st, 2023
COST: Pay What You Can (PWYC), with a suggested donation of $20 per person.
About Hamlet
Returning home to attend her father’s funeral, Hamlet discovers that another ceremony has
already taken place: the marriage of her mother to her uncle. That’s right, her dead father’s
brother. When Hamlet is visited by her father’s ghost demanding that she avenge his murder,
Hamlet begins to wonder – is it she who has gone mad or everyone around her?
The play takes place in a fairytale-inspired Elsinor, an extravagant kingdom ruled by the freshly
crowned King Claudius. But don’t let its decadent appearance fool you, there’s something rotten
in this fairytale wonderland.
Re-imagined to feature a female Hamlet, her feigned madness is a rejection of feminine
expectations and an attempt to free herself from a fake world. This is the story of a quest for
justice that exposes what happens when a young woman challenges authority.
About Company of Fools
Best known for their Shakespeare in the Park series, the group tour 90-minute versions of
Shakespeare’s hits to parks across Eastern Ontario. They believe that it doesn’t matter where you live, how much you make, or how old you are: theatre should be accessible to everyone! All of our performances are for PWYC donations, family-friendly, and our touring model means we bring the theatre right to your backyard.
Over the last 30 years, They have developed their signature foolish approach to staging Shakespeare. They work with a small cast of actors to embody 15 different characters within a production and employ styles of slapstick, mask, and puppetry to create a family-friendly experience. They help first-time theatregoers discover their love for live performance through their foolish approach to storytelling!
Hamlet runs July 3rd – August 26th, Mondays through Saturdays at 7pm. Bring a lawn chair or blanket, bug spray, picnic, and your sense of humour. Pass-the-hat donations are collected at the end of the performance and can be submitted in the form of cash, credit card, or cheque.
For more information on the show and a detailed park schedule, visit www.fools.ca
