About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Claudius is a full-length comedic drama by Ken Gass, adapted from William Shakespeare. An alternative version of Shakespeare's Hamlet story, focusing on the relationship between Hamlet's mother Queen Gertrude and his new step-father, his uncle Claudius, now the king. Claudius is a tale of politics, passion and paranoia.

Claudius uses characters familiar to us from Hamlet. Shakespeare himself tinkered with the age-old legend of the melancholy Danish prince to produce his Hamlet. In this play the focus of story shifts from the mad prince to the marriage of his uncle Claudius, the ambitious usurper who killed his older brother the king (and Hamlet's father) and married Hamlet's mother Queen Gertrude in order to claim the Danish throne for himself. In examining the seesaw struggle between the private morality and political survival Ken Gass reinvents old characters, creates new ones, and fashions an entirely new work, a murky comedy full of political intrigue, humour, and spectacle.

Claudius premiered in 1993 at Factory Theatre in Toronto. The play won a Chalmers nomination and enjoyed strong reviews and large audiences. It has been performed in college theatre productions as a showcase of student talent.

Cast: 4 female, 6 male

What people say:

"Ken Gass scrambles Shakespeare and comes up with a brand-new, fast-paced drama Hamlet, with a twist." — The Globe and Mail

"...a thoroughly modern and almost as thoroughly entertaining comedy-drama of political intrigue." — Toronto Star

About the Playwright:

Ken Gass is a Canadian writer and director for stage, television, radio and film. He was founder and Artistic Director of the Factory Theatre from 1970-79 and, since his resumption of the Artistic Directorship in 1996, has led Factory Theatre from the brink of financial ruin to purchasing the historic building in which it is housed. He is also the Artistic Director of Canada Rep Theatre. Many of his plays have been performed all across Canada. He teaches performance at the Centre for Drama at the University of Toronto.