GERTRUDE – The Cry, Howard Barker’s shocking and risqué take on Hamlet, will have its first major London revival since its premiere in 2002, at Theatre N16. Combining feminism, sex and objectification, runs from June 12 to June 30, 2016.

Described as a complicated, challenging and utterly filthy play, Gertrude will be directed by theatre publicist Chris Hislop.

Reinterpreting Shakespeare’s classic from the perspective of Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude – The Cry kicks out 9/10ths of the plot in favour of a brutal, poetic exploration of lust and sexuality.

Complicit in her husband’s murder from the off, Gertrude begins a tempestuous and raw physical relationship with Claudius, much to the disgust of her prudish son Hamlet. Unable to recreate her “cry”, Gertrude tries to find what drives her lust – and in doing so, gains power over all of the men around her.

Chris Hislop said: “The play is a mass of dichotomies. Gertrude has all of the power, a woman in complete control of her choices and her body, but the script wilfully objectifies her at every turn. Lust is a vicious, cruel force that ruins many a character, but is also the only constant in this world that Barker has created. It’s going to be hard to pin this one down!”

While better known as a theatre publicist, Chris Hislop now returns to his directing roots after a three year hiatus. He has directed a wide variety of theatre in London, Brighton and Edinburgh over the last 10 years, and Gertrude will be his third Shakespeare pastiche/parody after Snoo Wilson’s More Light at the Rose Bankside and Andrew Shepherd’s The Shakespeare Conspiracy at the Chelsea Theatre.

Hislop also co-wrote and directed the award-winning, critically acclaimed A Fistful of Snow at the Brighton and Edinburgh Festivals in 2009.

Tickets: £14, £10 concessions – available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/theatren16.

Time: Sunday to Thursday at 7.30pm.

Gertrude is part of Theatre N16’s Spring/Summer 2016 season.

• Delicious
• Digg
• Reddit
• Facebook
• Stumbleupon