REDLANDS, California (March 24, 2017)— “Big Brother Hamlet” takes the themes of omniscience found in Shakespeare’s script—God, the supernatural, king and kingdom—and connects them with today’s most omniscient entity, surveillance technology. Set in the future, the kingdom of Elsinore is destabilized by corrupt leadership, and although surveillance technology gives some people the illusion of control, paranoia abounds. Throughout the play, young Hamlet struggles to know the difference between information and truth.

The play, developed and directed by University of Redlands Theatre Professor Chris Beach, will open March 31 for a week of public performances in the Frederick Loewe Theater on the Redlands campus. After performing at Redlands, 17 students and four faculty will perform Big Brother Hamlet in Scotland at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe—the largest arts festival in the world.