On Nov. 1, the theater department and the Black Underground Theater Alliance, a student-run organization, opened their sold-out production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” at the Theater on Currier. The groups offered six additional performances through Nov. 9.
Director Myxolydia Tyler presented her version of “Hamlet” — a “reimagining” of the original set in New Orleans — to the theater department in April 2024, according to The Hopkins Center for the Arts website. The show is set in antebellum New Orleans and follows Hamlet’s attempts to avenge his father’s murder at the hands of his uncle Claudius, according to Tyler.
Tyler and her production team, which included both College staff and students, began pre-production — designing sets and costumes — in April, Tyler said. Tyler then worked on the script over the summer, which entailed cutting and reordering scenes and shuffling lines between characters, while also staying true to the original story.
According to Tyler, BUTA — which aims to elevate work that features or is written by Black students — hoped to produce a show this fall but lacked the time. As a result, the group decided to co-produce “Hamlet” with the theater department.
“It’s been a great operation with them,” Tyler said. “[They’ve been] great allies in the process of casting and producing the show.”
At the beginning of the fall term, Tyler met students in classrooms and club fairs to spark interest in auditions, she said. After casting, the rehearsal schedule was “intensive” with three-hour rehearsals five days a week, according to Solveig Lyssand ’28.
Colby Soutter ’28 stars as the titular character and is joined by Maxwell Simba ’25 as Claudius, Lily Easter ’25 as Polonius, Lyssand as Ophelia, Yifei Liu ’26 as Gertrude and Seamus Buckley ’27 as Laertes.
Tyler said she wanted to tell a ghost story version of “Hamlet.” In this production — the third she has directed at Dartmouth — she included various supernatural elements such as possession, voodoo and other ghostly interactions and effects, she said.
“We wanted to see what that would be like … to really address it as a play more of fear around death and the unknown,” Tyler said.
Tyler said she chose New Orleans for the setting because of its multicultural community, rich religious culture — including the juxtaposition between voodoo and Catholicism — and parallels between the antebellum South and “Hamlet’s” original setting, Denmark — both of which faced war on the horizon.
“Once I knew that I was doing a ghost story ‘Hamlet,’ I wanted to have it in a place that lends itself to being haunted,” she said.
With the Hopkins Center under construction, the stage was designed at the Theater on Currier, an intimate performance space built in 2023 located at 4 Currier Place in Hanover. Tyler and set designer Michael Ganio based the set on Congo Square, a major marketplace in New Orleans. They added layers, such as walls, curtains and doors, which Tyler said allowed them to play with light and shadow.
“We wanted it to feel like we are in the alleyways of New Orleans,” Tyler said.
Despite the relatively small size of the Theater on Currier, actors noted that there are benefits to performing in a smaller theater.
“It allows you to get really intimate with the audience,” Ari Rabinowitz ’28, who plays Rosencrantz, said.
CJ Tebben ’26, who plays Marcellus and Osric, added that the space pushes actors to perform more deliberately.
“It makes [you be] a lot more intentional,” Tebben said. “There isn’t space to wander.”
Lyssand said she auditioned for the show because she wanted to explore theater at Dartmouth and “refreshed the page every single day” until sign-ups became available. When Lyssand got the part of Ophelia, she said that she was thrilled.
“[I] definitely called my mom immediately,” Lyssand said. “Going into it [auditions] as a freshman, I didn’t know if I would get anything … and then to get that part was so crazy. I’m kind of still in disbelief about it.”
The company has developed a strong sense of community after spending so much time together during rehearsals, according to Lyssand.
“It’s such a rare thing, because you’re in such close proximity for so long with this little group of people, and you guys get so close,” Lyssand said. “After the show is over, then everyone goes on separate ways, but you still honor and appreciate that time you did have together.”
Assistant stage manager Rowan MacLean ’25 said theater can bring people together through the shared experience of creating artistic work.
“I would say [the theater department] was one of the first places I really found community here,” MacLean said. “…There’s something so wonderful about getting to just have an excuse to spend time with creative, wonderful people.”
Tyler acknowledged the hard work of the cast and crew to bring the production to fruition.
“The fact that they have been able to give me so much of their time and attention and dedication — it’s truly humbling,” Tyler said. “I’m inspired by the work that they are doing.”
