Lincoln Street School’s Adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

Back in the good ol’ days of Shakespeare and typhus children, theatrical performances started to become more popular than adult performances. And now, because the repetition of history is absolutely inevitable, children are taking over Exeter’s productions.

Rather than the Senior Acting Ensemble pulling together a show for Phillips Exeter, the Lincoln Street School Squad will be debuting in Fisher Theater. The kids, ranging from third graders to fifth graders, are expected to put on a three hour-long version of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” When asked why the Lincoln Street School Squad wasn’t going to aim for something shorter or simpler, the LSSS responded, “We don’t stoop to that level.”

Little Jimmy expressed excitement about being cast as the ghost of the late King Hamlet. “I’m not sure what my lines are or what I’m supposed to do yet,” he commented, “but I was a ghost for Halloween once, so it should be similar.”

The director of the Lincoln Street School Squad’s rendition of “Hamlet” knew exactly who the title role would go to from the start. “There’s this one kid that I thought was just shy at first,” stated the director. “Then a month passed and I realized that he had a bad habit of eavesdropping. I lectured him about listening to others’ conversations, but he just answered with some angsty poetic BS.

But that wasn’t the end of it. I realized that he’d start talking to himself when he thought that no one was listening, and I was about ready to send him to a counselor. Then I heard that PEA wanted Lincoln Street to perform at PEA and I figured that the kid could stay crazy for a few more months. Type casting, right?”

The LSSS is also taking over Dramat. No longer will Exeter students be the ones that lurk around the theater 24/7 and put on “The Breakfast Club” over and over again.

PEA students are upset, but not too much. “OMG, that Ophelia is sooo cute!” squealed Eliran Oz, theater kid. The majority of campus is too distracted by the adorable factor of the play to worry over the acting abilities, liability issues or aesthetic.

To see the Lincoln Street School Squad’s performance of “Hamlet,” get your tickets from rmcshane@exeter.edu. All showings will end before 8 p.m. to accommodate bedtimes.