Medieval Europe.
Plagues, death, squalor.
The occasional disembowelment.
General unpleasantness.
Victorian Theatre Company presents The King’s Player – a tour de force solo performance of clown, mime, music, drama and farce, written and performed by Tref Gare.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, The King’s Player is set in Medieval Europe where an out-of-work actor gets the chance to perform in the royal court… of Elsinore.
In this dynamo performance Tref Gare (Travesties, Romeo & Juliet) takes his audience on a theatrical ride through dark-age poverty-stricken town squares, atop citadel battlements, and into the heart of Elsinor’s murderous court.
There are 16 characters in this show. These include a plague ridden village, a sick castle, Claudius – King of Denmark, Hamlet himself and the main protagonist The Player – Smithson Wobblespear. Gare has written and plays them all with uncanny vigor and precision.
The King’s Player debuted in London in 1992 and has played across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and India. Steeped in 32 years of performance, this coup de maître now plays in Melbourne’s Alex Theatre Studio as part of Victorian Theatre Company’s 2024 season.
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