Making Elsinore from Hamlet

Hamlet supplied the characters and the world. BSA’s first-year Theatre-Making students supplied a new way through them.

Elsinore was the first production to emerge from the course’s collaboration with The Wardrobe Ensemble. Directed by Tom Brennan, it brought movement, diary material, original dialogue and live music into a piece concerned with grief, relationships and purpose.

Speaking to Bristol24/7 before the performances, Tess Morris and Toby Mitchell described the balance between recognising Shakespeare’s play and allowing the company’s own interests to shape the work. They credited Brennan with bringing different ideas and individual skills into a shared form.

The production was scheduled for Tobacco Factory Theatres from 27–29 June 2024. The interview captures the company just before that first encounter with an audience, explaining how they made the work their own.

Sources: Bristol24/7; Tobacco Factory Theatres.