Beach and Hammett's adaptation sets Shakespeare's tragedy in a dystopian world where people speak Shakespearean English while employing modern-day social networking and surveillance technologies.
This juxtaposition makes thematic sense given that the plot of Hamlet revolves around several crucial mysteries: has King Hamlet's ghost risen from the grave? How did the king really die? Why has Hamlet started to behave strangely? Shakespeare's characters seek eyewitness evidence to answer these questions, devising elaborate strategems to ensure that they can see without themselves being seen.
Surveillance has become a heightened concern in modern-day societies, with the introduction of digital technologies that expand the scope of what can be recorded, analyzed and inferred. Incorporating cameras, mobile devices and social networking into a production of Hamlet raises necessary questions about the value of privacy and the way in which societies throughout history have balanced security and liberty.
If you're interested in reading further, try searching the Armacost Library catalog for more information on electronic surveillance, privacy and digital technologies. Here are a few possibilities:
American Privacy: The 400 Year History of Our Most Contested Right
Frederick S. Lane
KF 1262.L36 2009
Attorney Frederick Lane reviews the role of privacy in American history, from the efforts to keep postal mail safe during Colonial times through the signing of the PATRIOT Act in October 2001.
Theresa M. Payton & Theodore Claypoole
KF 1262.P39 2014
Payton is a former White House Chief Information Officer and CEO of a fraud and risk consulting company. Claypoole is a technology attorney who heads the Privacy and Data Management team for a major law firm. They explain in plain English how popular consumer technologies can be used to gather data in unwanted ways, and what you can do about it.
Bruce Schneier
HM846.S362 2015
Security analyst Schneier describes how corporations and governments have created a "surveillance society" at the cost of economic, civic and moral harms.
Anita L. Allen
JC596.A44 2011
Is privacy always good? Should we have laws enforcing privacy, or should it be a matter of individual choice? Philosopher and laywer Anita Allen looks beyond the most popular and well-liked privacies, to ask whether unpopular - even coercive - privacies are also worthwhile, even if they require government regulation.
Sanjeet Mann
Arts & Electronic Resources Librarian
University of Redlands
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