Hamlet

The production of Hamlet: Shakespeare in Queens Park is part of the USQ Performance Centre's 2004 season and kicks off what is hoped to become an annual Shakespearean Festival. The play will be performed by final-year University of Southern Queensland acting students as well as Kate Wilson, Robert Ketton and Scott Alderdice from the Department of Theatre staff.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare transports the audience into a time of political intrigue and unrequited love. When Prince Hamlet of Denmark returns to his torn nation after the death of his father, he finds that his mother has remarried his uncle, Claudius. After a visitation by his father's ghost, it is revealed that Claudius murdered his brother the King, and Hamlet must now avenge this wrongful death. This quest sees him lose much of what he treasures, including his love, Ophelia. Propelled into a dark and desperate questioning of death and love, Hamlet sees his entire world turned upside down.

Performed under the stars for the first time at Queens Park, Hamlet is a widely studied play that covers issues of politics, adolescence, death and love. A play for all times, it is truly capable of speaking to our modern world with as much power as when first performed.

This set of Teachers' Notes has been developed in an effort to guide teachers and their students through some of the issues and themes presented in the production. Discussion starters and activities, as well as additional resources, are provided for your continued investigation of Hamlet. These notes are aimed at secondary school students from grades 8-12 though they may be useful for anyone undergoing a study or process involving this play.