The two productions will be performed at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden to mark the company’s 10th anniversary of Summer promenade productions.
Having launched its first Summer season in 2009, Iris Theatre have confirmed details for their 10th annual Summer promenade performances at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden for 2019.
The new season will open with a production of Hamlet, which will run from the 19th June until the 27th July. The action of the play has been relocated to Britain, with Hamlet returning from university to find his country in crisis, his father dead and his uncle in control.
Hamlet is back from university; back home to a restless little island hanging on to the edge of Europe. Everything has changed; his country is in crisis; his father murdered; and his uncle, a right-wing strongman, has seized power. Amidst all the chaos, his mother has committed the ultimate betrayal. And now a masked figure has been seen, stalking the shadows. There is whisper of a resistance, gathering in the dark. As paranoia and rumour swirl around this fractured state, the truth is becoming ever more distant and unknowable.To be or not to be, that is the question – but can Hamlet find the answer before his own doubts and fears eat him alive? This modern promenade production places Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy within a contemporary context to illuminate both the play and our own relationship with its timeless themes.
It has also been announced that the company will present a production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Bringing Victor Hugo’s classic story to life in the heart of London, the production will play at St Paul Church from the 1st August until the 1st September.
In 1482, in the shadows of Notre Dame Cathedral, a priest and a hunchback both fall for the mysterious and beautiful Esmerelda; but all she wants is to find her long-lost mother. When the unhappy pair try to take matters into their own hands they set off a chain of events that no one can control. Paris throbs with the threat of rebellion. The mob breaks against the walls of the cathedral. Will the hunchback find true love? Will the priest save his soul? And will it take the people of Paris to save Esmerelda?
For more information about both productions visit:https://iristheatre.com/