'Hamlet' shows at Palace Cineplex this Sunday

To be or not to be? Is the burning question in the outstanding performance of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Hamlet. This amazing production has been experienced by over half a million people worldwide, and will be shown in Jamaica, exclusively at Palace Cineplex this Sunday.

Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Chimerica), and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Hamlet tells the story of a son who is forced to avenge his father's death, but rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.

Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch plays the Hamlet we know: hidden away in his room, dressed in black and brooding over his father's death. He gradually casts off the shell of the depressed, vengeful stepson for something much more significant and politically potent. As a country arms itself for war, his pivotal epiphany comes on the battlefield where he grows up, and gets serious as he is forced to fight.

Turner's compelling perspective brings to life the dynamic nature of manhood, more so in the context of the yearly traditional celebration of Father's Day. In this fresh revision, Hamlet is many things - a scholar, prince, friend, stepson and warrior - and the audience sees Hamlet in all his glory through a series of high-definition close-ups.

Born in London in 1976, Cumberbatch is a British screen actor best known for his role in the BBC television show Sherlock. He has also appeared in Hollywood films such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse, Star Trek: Into the Darkness, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. He has received both Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for his role in the 2014 Alan Turing biopic, The Imitation Game. In 2016, he played the titular role in the Marvel film Dr Strange, and reprised his role in Avengers: Infinity War in 2018.

The love in this production is twisted and palpable, and can be seen in the relationships between Hamlet and the women around him (Ophelia and Gertrude), as well as between the two women themselves. British actor Sian Brooke plays the clever Ophelia who appears fragile, but is well attuned to the happenings within Elsinore's walls. Anastasia Hille is also impressive as Gertrude.

This fierce interpretation of Hamlet gives the audience a chance to find new meaning and, answers in Shakespeare's legendary masterpiece.