Our screening on Monday 9 December will be followed by a q&a with producer Julia Ton and actor Mark Oosterveen.
January 2021. The UK is in its 3rd lockdown and all entertainment venues remain closed. For theatre actors Sam and Mark, the future looks bleak. As the pandemic drags on, Mark - single and childless - is increasingly socially isolated, while Sam panics about how he is going to support his young family.
They spend their days in the online digital world of Grand Theft Auto and when they stumble across a theatre, they suddenly have an idea to stage a full production of Hamlet within the game. This film charts their ridiculous, hilarious and moving adventure as they battle violent griefers and discover surprising truths about life, friendship, and the enduring power of Shakespeare.
All screenings are subtitled.
The Garden Cinema View:
Quite a unique film, which visually has more in common with artist moving image practitioners such as Jon Rafman or Ed Atkins, but is narratively closer to therapy-through-drama films like Sing Sing. Rising above any antecedent, is the surreal hilarity of pitting Shakespeare against the violent and nihilistic world of GTA, resulting in a kind of hyper-slapstick where the actors may die by unusual methods at any given moment. There are sequences that are surely scripted, or restaged, for dramatic impact. Although the very unreality of the mode of filmmaking makes concerns around authenticity feel quite inconsequential.
The ultimate performance is shown in truncated form, suggesting that the end result of the production is of less value than the sense of community, and empowering nature of performance and practice, at a time when so many people were extremely anxious and isolated.
Now nominated for four BIFA awards.
