Those in San Francisco who have seen and enjoyed the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet can now meet the Prince of Denmark before he came home and walked into that mess in Elsinore.
Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company is giving the local premiere of ‘Wittenberg’, which shows the young man at college in Germany.
Wittenberg is barely mentioned in Hamlet, but the university is the center of the action in this production. Hamlet turns up at school stressed and confused—he has been studying with Copernicus in Poland, and he is trying to get his head around the idea the Earth revolves around the sun, rather than the other way round. His is finding his teachers to be of little help too, since he is studying with Martin Luther and Dr. Faustus, who represent opposing value systems.
This setup allows playwright David Davalos to make scathing observations on society, while also loading his play with clever references to Hamlet and other Shakespearean works. For those who like a giggle, the play is packed with with plenty of jokes, puns and snappy lines.
Wittenberg is running now and closes May 4. Curtain times are 7:00 pm on Tuesdays, 8:00 pm Wednesdays to Saturdays, and 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm on Sundays.
Theater staff could work with a poster printing company to create items for display throughout the area.
Location
496 9th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
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Hours
Mon: 9:00 - 5:00
Tue: 9:00 - 5:00
Wed: 9:00 - 5:00
Thu: 9:00 - 5:00
Fri: 9:00 - 5:00
Sat: Closed
Sun: Closed