Springboard Shakespeare:Hamlet

Hamletis the most studied and performed of Shakespeare's tragedies. However, its dense but beautiful language can seem forbidding to students and audiences, giving the play a reputation of being 'difficult'. This accessible introduction to Hamletoffers a "springboard" into the play, breaking down any fears or preconceptions about it and taking a hands-on, performance-based approach. It combines ideas and critical information about the context in which the play was written, the ideas it explores and the challenges and the rewards it presents to actors, audiences and students. Springboard Shakespeare: Hamlethas a three-part structure: Before, During and After.Ben Crystal takes you through what you need to know and think about beforeyou see or study the play, whileyou watch or read it , and afteryou have seen or read it. He combines a genuine passion and understanding of Shakespeare with his experience as an actor, to give the reader a clear route to thinking about and enjoying Hamlet, whether in the classroom or the theatre.

Ben Crystal is an actor and writer with an established expertise in Shakespeare. He has co-authored The Shakespeare Miscellany and Shakespeare's Words with his father, linguistic expert David Crystal, and was the sole author of the very successful Shakespeare on Toast.