A documentary about an attempt to stage a version of Shakespeare play Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto is getting rave reviews.
Grand Theft Hamlet is in cinemas from today (December 6) and follows two out of work actors (Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen) as they “attempt the impossible task of mounting a full production of Hamlet inside the ultra violent world of Grand Theft Auto.”
“It’s ground-breaking and necessary – especially at a time when more and more of our lives (even a cultural artefact as ancient as live theatre) move online,” said creators while a number of critics have praised the “surreal” documentary, which was shot inside Grand Theft Auto 5.
“A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed; hilarious, surreal and, yes, in its weird way, genuinely exciting,” reads The Guardian’s five-star review. “The result is wild, like Baz Luhrmann’s gangbanger Romeo + Juliet or Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, in which actors roam the land performing their show but suspect that no one is out there watching it.”
“Lurking beneath the herky-jerky gameplay hijinks, unexpected twists and turns, and spontaneous acts of extreme violence, is an unexpectedly moving, genuinely quite revolutionary tribute to art’s endurance — and importance — in times of crisis,” reads Empire’s four-star review while The Standard wrote: “What makes Grand Theft Hamlet wickedly entertaining is how ridiculously amusing it is, and how such an incredibly stupid proposition ended up being so watchable.”
A complete list of where to watch Grand Theft Hamlet can be found here.
Well folks. Today’s the day.
GRAND THEFT HAMLET, a feature documentary two beautiful friends made about us trying to be creative in lockdown, comes out in cinemas across the UK today.
Please support independent, original UK films.
I’m proud of it. Hope you enjoy x pic.twitter.com/xFLAjTCzb1
— Mark Oosterveen (@MarkOosterveen) December 6, 2024
Co-director Pinny Grylls told The Independent he wanted Grand Theft Hamlet to be an emotional watch. “I found an in-game phone, which has a camera on it. You can do close-ups of the avatars, which allows them to come to life. You get a sense of what they would imagine, feel and think. We could also capture the non-playable characters that populate the game as well, picturing them almost as witnesses to our story.”
“I think we’ve learned a lot about online communities in gaming spaces, how surprising and varied they are,” added one of the documentary’s stars Sam Crane. “We kept coming across these people in the game who surprisingly did want to help us put on this production. It kind of gives you hope for humanity. In a world where violence is so de rigueur, you can still find kindness and compassion.”
In other news, the best reviewed games of 2024 have been revealed.
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