TWO Thurrock Council libraries will be transformed into the state of Denmark for one evening each in April.
Thurrock was part of a wider funding bid for the Librarian Theatre to produce a ten-week tour of Hamlet.
Arts Council England awarded a grant of just under £49,000 from National Lottery funds for the project
The Book’s the Thing is newly adapted from the Shakespeare text by the company’s co-founders Tom Cuthbertson – who will be directing the production – and Kelly Eva-May, who will be playing the lead role of Hamlet.
They have been working in partnership with Hertfordshire Libraries since last June to have their first tour up and running by 23 April, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
The idea was met with widespread support when they crowd-funded over £6,000 in October to get the project started, with praise shared on twitter from big literary names such as Margaret Atwood, Mark Haddon and Joanne Harris.
The Thurrock dates are Wednesday, 20 April at the South Ockendon Centre and the following evening at Corringham Library. Both events start at 7.30pm.
Despite the original’s 4,024 lines – Shakespeare’s longest play – The Book’s The Thing is less than 75 minutes long.
Tickets are £7 and £4 for concessions (students, those on benefits, unemployed, over 60s) are available through the Librarian Theatre website – librariantheatre.com
To find out about other events and activities at your local library, go to thurrock.gov.uk/libraries
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