Hamlet Recreation

The problem one faces in trying to create a Shakespeare based play in today’s society, is the social status, the in text language used, and just how the era has changed drastically since Shakespeare times. In today’s society, the youth are the main targets for media, products and culture because they hold the key to the future. It is important to re-create Hamlet, in slang language and terminology used today to appeal to the teenagers of our society.

It is sophomore year in Orange County California, the year that every teenager finds his/her social status, in which they either move up to being popular, or they move down and become a nerd. In middle school, Natalie and Kate were best friends and they were inseparable. Now times have changed, people grow apart. Natalie joined the cheerleading squad, while Kate joined key club and the environmental club, which in OCHS are opposite sides of the popularity spectrum. Natalie, who is dating the captain of the football team and senior, Jake, started hanging out with the senior girls, shopping with them, hanging out with them on the weekends, going to their parties, etc. and is on her way to becoming one of the most popular girls in OCHS. Kate becomes jealous of this and decides to sabotage their relationship, humiliating Natalie several times, sharing all of her deepest darkest secrets, and leading Jake to break up with Natalie the week before prom. Kate has Chemistry with Jake and started flirting with him everyday. Jake finally ends up asking Kate to the prom, and eventually starts dating her. Their relationship is even better than his and Natalie’s. Drama is raging through the school, as Natalie and the senior girls try to get back at Kate for breaking them up. At the prom, they sabotage her back, even worse than the time with Natalie. Jake realizes how much of a nerd Kate is, and Natalie just wanted to get revenge and didn’t care about getting back together with the desperate jock. In the end, Jake ends up having no girlfriend, and no one to spend the end of the prom with, so he sits by himself while everyone makes fun of him. Natalie and the senior girls rule the school now, leaving Kate in the dust.

I had Natalie and Kate model after the parts of King Hamlet and Claudius, and Jake as Gertrude. I decided to change around the gender because girl drama is always more appealing to the teenager eye and is something that most girls can relate too. I plan to target teenage girls, ranging from ages 14-18. Also, I wanted to change around the fact that “King Hamlet” (Natalie) rules again, because I was upset when no one ended up ruling in the end and the throne was left to Fortinbras. I picked the role of cheerleader and football captain because it is the stereotypical image of the teenager popularity and of course the nerd. Orange County, California was picked as the location, because of the high demand in the lifestyle there, and the drama that is just flourishing every day