The Factory Theatre have been lying low since their final run of Hamlet in September, when we caught the company using every square foot of the Globe and Regent Street for their daredevil improvised performances. This Monday they're back for a single Christmas show, and there are just a few tickets left. Get yours now and you'll thank us. Every performance is a serendipitous upwelling of theatrical possibility, utterly unique to the night. With parts assigned on the spot, props provided by the audience, and unfamiliar stages to explore — in this case, Notting Hill's historic Tabernacle — the cast and audience reinvent the Dane's tragedy together in a way David Tennant probably won't.
For Christmas, the rules have changed yet again. The audience are asked to bring their props gift wrapped, adding a bit of pass-the-parcel mystery to the equation. The role of Fortinbras' Captain is to be auctioned off alongside a number of other choice lots. And at the end of Act V, when Fortinbras bids “the soldiers shoot,” the DJ will answer and the fourth wall will come down for a post-bloodbath party.
The Factory Hamlet Christmas Special will be on Monday 22 December at the Tabernacle, Notting Hill. Doors are at 6.30 for a 7.30 start. For more information and to book £15 tickets, go to http://seehamlet.co.uk. Image courtesy of Nevermorepro via the Londonist flickrpool.
