For the ultimate in theater/venue mashups, you can’t do better than Hamlet on Alcatraz. After nearly two years spent juggling logistics (and dodging pesky birds), 29-year-old director Ava Roy is using the entirety of the infamous prison island to create a memorable rendition of Shakespeare’s tormented Dane.
Accompanied by an original score echoing buoy bells and whipping wind, actors lead the audience through seldom-seen areas of the prison. It would be tough to find site-specific theater more specific than this: the structure of the space lends itself beautifully to the play’s inherent themes of incarceration and isolation and ultimate redemption. Hamlet on Alcatraz promises to be some amazing theater.
Through November 21. Reservations required. Tickets available on a donation basis. Audience departs via Ferry Building from Pier 33. www.weplayers.org.
