When Churchyards Yawn
Synopsis
Shakespeare’s dead are not finished with one another. In Purgatory, Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Polonius, Laertes, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the old king must climb through the seven deadly sins, building their own staircase toward Heaven while reckoning with the damage they did in life. A divine comedy about blame, forgiveness, Grace, and the inconvenient fact that salvation may be a group project.
Characters
Hard-boiled; reading glasses on a chain, clipboard and quill in hand.
Ancient and exhausted.
Ancient and befuddled.
Feels like a nitwit.
Blames Rosencrantz.
Innocent and furious.
Spitting mad.
Younger than Hamlet Sr., closer to Hamlet’s age, and nauseatingly contrite.
Charming and profoundly codependent.
Last to arrive and very much not finished with anybody.
Staging & Technical Requirements
Physical ensemble staging. Medieval detritus and theatrical junk gradually transform into an uneven staircase toward a blue portal to Heaven, with a contrasting red portal to Hell. Colored lighting, sound, fog, ropes, pulleys, platforms, and simple practical effects are part of the theatrical language. The design can be inventive and modular rather than literal.