Huichang Theatre Season003

Hamletmachine

Performance Schedule

2025.5.23-5.26

Ticket Prices

¥1080, 980

¥1588 (package includes two ¥980 tickets)

(For English subtitles, seats in row 5 and beyond are recommended)

About Hamletmachine

Hamletmachine is a 1977 postmodernist play by German playwright Heiner Müller, adapted from Shakespeare's classic tragedy Hamlet. The play breaks with the traditional narrative structure, deconstructing the original's theme of revenge and exploring philosophical propositions such as identity, power and human alienation through fragmented monologues, imagery splices and surreal scenes. The characters in the play depart from their original settings, such as Hamlet's attempt to become a machine and Ophelia's violent rebellion against the male-dominated social structure.

Directed by international experimental theatre master Robert Wilson, the Chinese version of the play is the world premiere of the Huichang Theatre Village ‘Artist in Residence’ project. Known for its experimental stage vision, the production reconstructs the text through minimalist sets, lighting and physical choreography, giving Shakespeare's classic a contemporary interpretation. The version emphasises ‘ritual’ and ‘visual poetics’, and the actors' performance style tends to be symbolic.

Minimalist staging and ritualised movement are at the core of the production, with the actors reinforcing the ‘machine’ imagery through mechanised poses and electronic sound effects. For example, Hamlet is shown as a puppet with stiff limbs, with cold lighting and industrial noise, highlighting the alienation of post-industrial society.

Directed by Robert Wilson

Written by Heiner Müller

Performed by

Zhang Yingxue, Feng Kaixuan, Chen Siyu, Xie Yujing, Jiang Nanyi, Zhao Ying, Lu Hongzhu

Wang Shiwei, Luo Huanhuan, Pang Jiayu, Sun Mingchi, Zhao Zifu, Gao Dayong, Li Bingqi, Jin Zhilin

Replacement Cast:

Jiang Sida, Liao Jinglin, Cai Xuhao, Li Xiaolong

(listed above in no particular order)

Co-director ⊙ Fani Saratani

Associate set designer ⊙ Marie de Testa

Lighting designer⊙ Marcello Lumaca

Sound designer⊙ Dario Felli, Thorsten Hoppe

Make-up and hair designer ⊙ Manuela Halligan

Assistant costume designer ⊙ Micol Notarianni

Stage manager ⊙ Thaiz Bozano

Video Designer⊙ Tomasz Jeziorski

Chinese version script translation ⊙ Chung Ming Der

Production Company: Huichang Theatre Village