Sound of Metal and Venom star Riz Ahmed will take on the Bard in a modern-day retelling of one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet. According to a report by Deadline, the Academy Award-winning actor will play the title role, transporting the story to modern London as Riz Ahmed’s Hamlet traverses the nightlife scene on a journey of violent revenge.
A description of the latest iteration of Hamlet describes as such; “haunted by his father’s ghost and driven to increasingly unstable heights. Moving from elite London to the city’s underground, from Hindu temples to homeless tent cities, he goes to rash and violent lengths to avenge his father’s murder, ultimately questioning his own role in the family’s corruption and who he has become.” While the plight of Hamlet is well-known, with the talent of Riz Ahmed involved, it’s hard not to get excited about this contemporary take on such a seminal story.
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Alongside Ahmed as Hamlet, the new iteration of the play will star BAFTA Rising Star nominee and Saint Maud and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark as Ophelia, with The Favourite and Harriet actor Joe Alywn signed on to play Laertes. Surge director Aneil Karia will helm the project, reuniting with Riz Ahmed following the pair’s Oscar win for their short film The Long Goodbye. Karia will be working from a script by Michael Lesslie, who has brought the works of Shakespeare to life before with 2015’s Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender.
Hamlet Will Tackle Race, Mental Health & Inequality Amid a Tale of Revenge
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As well as the contemporary setting, Hamlet will also tackle contemporary themes. “This is a Hamlet about race, mental health and inequality, which asks if setting things right means setting fire to the old order,” Ahmed and Karia said of the project in a statement. “Our Hamlet is an outsider in a wealthy British Indian family, who starts to question his relatives’ morality and his own sanity after encountering his father’s ghost. Hamlet’s bloody quest for revenge against his father’s killer will be told with a boldness and urgency that grabs hold of audiences and won’t let go.”
“We want to continue what we started with The Long Goodbye, in telling a story that is both totally grounded and authentic but then pushes into action, thriller, genre, and poetry,” the pair continued. “We’ve both felt on the outside of Shakespeare, but as South Asians also deeply connect to what these stories are about – themes like family, honor, and duty. So, our aim is to bring Hamlet to life by setting it in our own community. We want to crack this timeless story open for a wider audience – with a diverse cast, a contemporary London setting, and by injecting classical verse with the energy of rap, a genre which we have both worked in for years.”
Adapting Hamlet has reportedly been a passion project for Nightcrawler and Rogue One star Riz Ahmed for some time. The movie does not yet have a release date, but filming is expected to begin this summer.
