County Durham’s Ensemble ‘84 presents Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a rarely performed first quarto version

Thursday 7 May, 2026

A County Durham theatre company brings an urgent new staging of Shakespeare’s tragedy, providing a fresh perspective on the familiar story.

Ensemble ‘84’s upcoming production brings Shakespeare’s First Quarto - The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet to Horden, County Durham. Using the rarely performed First Quarto text of Hamlet, this striking new staging brings a shorter, urgent version of Shakespeare’s tragedy.

A kingdom is unsettled.