Old Globe Puts 'Hamlet: On The Radio,' Starring Cast From Acclaimed 2017 Summer Staging

San Diego CA

20 April, 2021

4:56 PM

Description

By Editor, Times of San Diego April 20, 2021 The Old Globe is giving you a present for Shakespeare's birthday – a free audio production by the cast of the theater's acclaimed 2017 Hamlet. Hamlet: On the Radio will air in two parts on KPBS (89.5 FM) this weekend – at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, then again in May and June. Grantham Coleman, who played the grief-stricken prince four years ago during the Old Globe's summer season, returns to the role for the broadcast. He talked to Globe Rising about the timelessness of the Bard. Popular TV shows like Sons of Anarchy and Empire, he argued, are rooted in Shakespeare – linking them to Hamlet and King Lear. "These stories, we still do them because they still show humanity, they still show the truth of how we operate as people and they give us the language to actually express it and say it," he said. Our critic, Pat Launer, called the language in the Globe's 2017 Hamlet "beautifully handled throughout" and the story "clearly told and well-articulated." She also praised Grantham, saying he "attacks the role with ferocity. He's a formidable Hamlet: angry, aggressive, athletic and prone to self-loathing." If you miss the weekend's broadcast, you'll have more chances to hear Hamlet: In addition to the radio, tune into the performance on the KPBS app and website, or on smart speakers. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.