Organized by the British Council and the British Embassy to celebrate 200 years of bilateral relations between Britain and Nepal, 'Hamlet' in Nepali will be staged on October 12 at Bhaktapur Durbar Square while the square will come alive the next day with the same play in English.'Hamlet' in the Nepali language is directed by Gregory Thompson with Bimal Subedi of Theater Village as the associate director. The play stars actor Arpan Thapa as the tortured Hamlet while Miss Nepal 2012 Shristi Shrestha will be seen as Ophelia, Raj Kumar Pudasaini as the ghost of Hamlet's father, Kamal Mani Nepal as Claudius, Bhola Raj Sapkota as Polonius, and Aruna Karki as Gertrude.
The actors were selected by Subedi and went through two days of workshop before being finalized for the play. While all the actors are experienced theater artists, this will be the theater debut for both Arpan Thapa and Shristi Shrestha.
Shristi says she feels privileged to be chosen as Ophelia. "I have always been interested in theater, and I even took a three-month acting course with veteran theater actor/director Sunil Pokharel. This is a huge challenge for me. My directors and the other actors have been extremely supportive. I have done countless researches on my character. There are different layers of emotions in Ophelia throughout the play and I have watched different plays and films on 'Hamlet' to understand her better," she says.
The play was adapted to Nepali by Jibesh Rayamajhi and Shristi Bhattarai. Subedi says, "The adaptation has retained the original essence while still trying to incorporate a few local contexts. The dialogues, while being intellectual, metaphorical and poetical, are yet comprehensible to everyone."
The English 'Hamlet' is being staged by Globe to Globe Hamlet global tour. It is directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst.
Director Thompson of the Nepali 'Hamlet' exclaimed that in many ways 'Hamlet' was closer to Nepal than the present Britain. He said, "Violence is a much closer reality here, like the royal massacre, armed guards on the streets, and violent killings during riots. Of course, it happens in Britain too, but it's much closer here than in the western democracies, today. I also think that the dilemma in Hamlet is similar to that of Mahabharata."
While announcing the play at a press conference on Wednesday, British Ambassador to Nepal John Rankin stated that he is delighted that 'Hamlet' is coming to Kathmandu. "The play speaks to many people across the world. I'm also delighted to announce that next year, we will have different events to mark the 200 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This is the first big kickoff event and I can't imagine a better way to start than with 'Hamlet' in both languages."
'Hamlet' in Nepali will be staged in Theater Village from December 17 to January 11, 2016.
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