The other night I watched a performance of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. Some of you may not be big fans of Shakespearean theater (I recently gained an interest, and am still working my way through his complete library), but it's worth watching just to see the Tenth Doctor and Jean-Luc Picard together in the same performance.
If you've never seen a performance of "Hamlet", nor read the script in high school, here's a quick rundown: Claudius (played by Stewart in this version) is the brother of the King of Denmark (also Stewart). Claudius steals the throne by poisoning him in his sleep. The ghost of the King visits his son, Hamlet (Tennant), in his sleep, and tells him to avenge him.
This present-day production has a very dystopian atmosphere. The characters dress in modern attire and use modern technology, while the Danish (not as powerful today, as it was back in Shakespeare's time) monarchy still maintains complete control over the nation. It almost feels like a work of Science-Fiction.
Like all of Shakespeare's work, the Olde-English in the dialouge can make it difficult to understand if you aren't entirely familiar with the story. As the author of a seldom read Sci-Fi blog, I'm hardly qualified to review it, but I'll just say that if you enjoy good drama (and are proficient in Olde-English), it's worth watching, especially just to see (SPOILER ALERT) the Doctor stab Capt. Picard.
On a semi-related note, William Shatner is a classically trained Shakespearean actor. They should have had him play Yorick.
You can watch the entire production (Along with "MacBeth", starring Patrick Stewart) here.
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