One may smile and smile and be a villain.
When the leader of a 1970s commune dies under suspicious circumstances, his daughter Hamlet seeks to avenge his death. But something is rotten within The Family, and although the commune is outwardly utopian, the predominantly female community grows more restricted by their Divine leader.
THEATRICAL TRAILER
Taking place on the 19th and 20th June as part of The Bush Theatre's Refugee Week program, this show sold out within 24 hours of tickets going on sale.
CAST
Hamlet - Lydia Fitzwilliams
Ophelia - Charly Faye
Claudius - Leonardo Shaw
Gertrude - Lizzie Lister
Horatio - Ausette Anderies
Laertes/Player Three - Lula Marsh
Polonius - Rẹmi Shorunke-Samuel
Rosencrantz - Naheema Shafau
Guildenstern - Goda Liutkute
The Ghost/Gravedigger/Player Two - Magnus Rook
Bernardo/Player Four - Florence Overton
Marcellus/Player Five - Maddy Biggs
Francisco/Player One - Amber Frances
CREATIVES
Adapted and Directed by Robyn Faye
Produced by Charly Faye
Musical Direction and Composition by Lizzie Lister
Fight Direction by Lydia Fitzwilliams
Intimacy Coordination by Pia Rickman
Text Support by Bertie Taylor-Smith
Production photography by AJ Prior
Additional Photography by Ty Hartman
Performed at The Bush Theatre
Rehearsed at Fourth Monkey
Costumes provided by The National Youth Theatre
BRITISH THEATRE
“With a predominantly female ensemble, the casting itself becomes a statement: this Hamlet is about reclaiming the narrative from the male figures who have traditionally dominated it."
At The Bush Theatre
The production will be taking place at the iconic Bush Theatre, with rehearsal support from Fourth Monkey and The Tabernacle Notting Hill.
Marking the second year of collaboration between The Bush Theatre and Compass Collective, this striking reimagining of Hamlet places women at the centre of the story. Examining cult dynamics, patriarchal structures and the illusion of empowerment.
This framing amplifies the theme of Courage, the official theme of Refugee Week 2026.
Many refugees show immense courage when they leave behind their homes and familiar culture, having to make painful decisions to protect themselves. They choose survival even when the future is unclear and, like Hamlet, they act not out of fearlessness, but because doing nothing is more dangerous.
The Cause
Compass Collective assists young refugees and asylum seekers to build resilience and
integrate into the UK. They offer a crucial source of support and community for vulnerable young people at risk of extreme isolation. They deliver a variety of programmes to help these young people to improve their communication and transferable life skills, build confidence, and move towards future opportunities in further education/training/employment. They support approximately 350 young people aged 18-26 from over 28 locations in the UK each year. The majority of young people that Compass Collective supports are in the early stages of immigration processing, and 70% are unaccompanied minors. Compass Collective was founded in 2018 and became a registered charity in 2021.
They are youth led, with a thriving, dynamic Youth Board, Youth Leader opportunities, and paid Youth Ambassadors embedded into every programme.
For Refugee Week last year, they organised a record breaking number of simultaneous performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Robyn directed one of these productions, raising over £1,500 in ticket sales.
CREATED BY
Robyn has held an incredibly deep love for the works of Shakespeare ever since her studies introduced her to them. Originally studying at UCA, she completed her BA (HONS) in acting and performance under the teachings of Simon Money (voice department at the National Theatre; Voice Tutor at Guildhall). It was here she developed not only her passion for classical text, but also the importance of voice and physicality in her creative practice. She later went on to gain a Masters in Classical and Contemporary Text at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. It was here she completed a residency at The Globe, which included playing Juliet in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. She was deeply inspired by all the Shakespearean practitioners she met during her time here. Since graduating Robyn has been working hard to develop her creative practice. She has discovered a love for making her own work as a director and has since developed the self-written play 'Naked Truths', which was performed at The Farnham Maltings. She has also collaborated with the award-winning theatre company Les Enfants Terribles (alongside Charly and Emma) to create the immersive experience 'The Prism'. Her first film, the short 'Scrub Me, Daddy', made the top 25 selection for Straight 8 2024 and premiered at the BFI IMAX. She has since written and directed two more shorts: 'Magic 8' which was supported by Kodak and Digital Orchard, and 'Immodest' which premiered at Cannes Film Festival. Some of her theatre credits as an actress include playing Helena in 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream', Urswick in an adaption of 'Perkin Warbeck', and Sarah in the new play 'Spit It Out'.
Robyn Faye
Charly Faye
Similarly, Charly discovered her love for classical text at UCA, performing in a production of 'Measure for Measure' in the role of Isabella during her first year. This passion sparked a love not just for Shakespeare, but also an interest in experimentation with his words. For her dissertation performance she created an adaptation of Hamlet which she titled 'Ophelia' and reworked the original text to show the story from a different perspective. Charly then chose to do her MA in Acting at East 15, with a particular focus on voice and performing in outside spaces. It was also here she further developed her love for creating as well as performing, with a particular interest in female led stories. Her final piece 'A Room Of Her Own' explored female connection and the specific societal pressures that are placed on women. Since graduating she has continued to develop her work as an actor and creator, often collaborating with Robyn. Together they have explored a number of classical productions including 'Shakesqueer' (a showcasing of queer adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays) at the Indie Summer Festival in London, and also co-writing 'The Prism' for the award winning theatre company Les Enfants Terribles. Separately she has been developing her first full length play 'Going To Graceland' with support from your writer’s group, and also freelances as a writer for a number of LGBTQIA+ publications including Gay Times and DIVA. In her spare time she also volunteers for the LGBTQIA+ charity Just Like Us, often giving school talks. Some of her theatre credits as an actor include playing Tybalt in 'Romeo and Juliet', Rona in 'Tiny Babies' and Louise Kevin in 'The Purple Turtle: An Absurdist Melodrama'.
Lydia is a fight director and combat teacher, for both screen and stage.She believe that good action is informed by character and story and that a fight should progress the narrative of both. She looks to make movement that is specific to these aspects, to ensure the fight seamlessly fits into the world of each project.
She fell in love with dramatic combat as it combined my two passions: sports and acting. It then led to her to East 15, and their BA Acting & Stage Combat degree where she gained invaluable skills and methods of creating fake violence. Since graduating, she has gone on to fight direct numerous projects, lead her own combat workshops, and assist multiple BADC teachers at drama schools and universities.
As a trained actor, she has a shared language with other performers. This means she can direct and coach them in physical sequences more accessibly and efficiently, and aid them with their character development and their vocal and physical skills to ensure they can perform the violence believably and repeatedly.
Lydia Fitzwilliams
Lizzie Lister
Lizzie is an actress, singer and writer based in London. Lizzie is passionate about the literary classics - particularly when adapting iconic texts through a contemporary lens. She flourished in her MA under the teachings of Emma Gersch (previous Head of Acting at RCSSD, Director & Higher Education Faculty Member at The Globe), whom she still collaborates with today.
Lizzie is the lyricist, book writer and co-composer of ‘Wuthering Heights - The Musical’, which fuses classical and contemporary worlds through its score, language and design. The show is currently in the late stages of development, and Lizzie also starred as Cathy Earnshaw in both of the musical’s workshops. She was recently a dramaturg for new Korean-British musical ‘Housemates’, which had its UK premiere at the Camden Fringe Festival 2024. Lizzie was also part of the development of an all-female production of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’; she played Nina (The Nurse) in ‘Shakesqueer: Rosalie and Juliet’ at the Etcetera Theatre, Camden across 2023.
Since graduating, her other credits include: Players’ Theatre’s ‘New Faces’ Music Hall concert at the CAA Covent Garden, ‘Iolanthe’ and ‘Patience’ at the Harrogate Royal Hall, ‘RENT’ at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the ‘Unheard’ concert at the Arts Theatre and the 25th Anniversary of ‘Les Misérables’ at the 02 Arena. Lizzie is also a recording artist for film/TV sync, having had songs featured in ‘Cable Girls’ (Netflix) and ‘The Marked Heart’ (Netflix).Lizzie was thrilled to recently play Sister Maria in ‘Immodest’ (Straight 8 Top 8 2025, Cannes Film Festival & BFI IMAX).