Director: Brian Bell

Production Management: Charlie Bierend, Michel Büch

Members of the University Players, Hamburg University’s English-language drama group met Texas-born and Berlin-based director Brian Bell at the Comparative Drama Conference 2025 in London. It soon became obvious that there was not only great personal chemistry between them but that they also shared aesthetic ideals, namely an interest in an accessible kind of theater that foregrounds its performative reality, the risky, playful, and unrepeatable here and now. All of these are defining elements of Brian Bell’s Shakespeariment series: the near-impromptu creation of Shakespeare’s classics with only one rehearsal before the show.

It requires of its actors a two-sided openness: the willingness to approach the Shakespearean text and their own stagecraft with utmost diligence and dedication while at the same time recognizing and accepting an inevitable imperfection of the final product, given the complexity of Shakespearean drama on the one hand and the limited time to prepare and rehearse on the other. They need to maintain complete focus throughout to create an aesthetic experience that nevertheless retains a sense of the quick-and-dirty.

The University Players have been producing one show per semester ever since 1980, except during the Covid years. While occasionally projects on the side are realized, those run the risk of straining our members‘ capacities. The Shakespeariment project, however, promised to fit in nicely as it required comparatively little additional resources and could be flexibly placed in the semester break. Yet with only one show, revenue from ticket sales is limited, so it was the DSG’s approval of funding that reduced our financial risk, allowed us to plan ahead and find out how Hamburg’s English-language theater would respond to the offer.

But no question about it—the response was overwhelming! The 40 audition spots were swiftly taken and the people challenging themselves all stated they appreciated the opportunity to engage with and work on a 90-second Shakespearean monologue, regardless of the outcome of the audition for them. The diverse and multigenerational ensemble was comprised of students and professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.

The highlight, of course, was the show itself. The tickets sold out fast and the audience experienced an energetic and accessible show with high-quality acting.