Clockwise from upper right: Renee Ombaba (Horatio), Jacqueline Youm (Claudius), Lexi Stein (Ophelia), and Jaki Demarest (Gertrude) in “Hamless.”
The Rude Mechanicals, in residence at the Greenbelt Arts Center, is currently offering their unique, take on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” online, entitled “Hamless.” This interesting look at the Shakespearean classic is produced by Joshua Engel and directed by Erin Nealer.
“Hamlet” has been a source of other plays in the past. “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” is one that comes to mind immediately. Like “Hamless,” Tom Stoppard’s play took characters out of the original story and gave them a closer look. This production imagines the Danish Court without Hamlet. All of our other favorites are here Gertrude (Jaki Demarest), Claudius (Jacqueline Youm), Ophelia (Lexi Stein), Laertes (Allison McAlister), Polonius (Justin Bigelow), Horatio (Renee Ombaba), and even Rosencrantz (Claudia Bach) and Guildenstern (Michae