OPHELIA THINKS HARDER
The graduating class of VCASS Theatre Artists 2025 were proud to present Ophelia Thinks Harder. Jean Betts’ adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet usurps its central character to give many of his most famous monologues instead to Ophelia. Betts also samples text from Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest, ruthlessly reassigning dialogue to create this original work, which is on one level a ferociously funny pastiche of Hamlet and on another, a hilariously savage indictment of male pomposity, oppression, sexism and misogyny.
We congratulate the graduating class of 2025, who comprised the cast and crew for this production. These dedicated and hard-working young theatre artists have risen to the challenge of this complex text and demonstrated that they understand why Betts wrote it and why its messages are both timely and important. We have all learnt more about theatre and about ourselves as theatre makers and global citizens, which has been very enjoyable and rewarding.’