The Rest is Silence Theatre Company is holding its first ever production, William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” on Aug. 2 and 3 at 7 p.m.
The newly created theater group was founded by Aiden Lewis, a rising senior at Valencia High School. Lewis said the company wanted to start off by putting an emphasis on Shakespeare’s classical works and over time move on to other classic playwrights and pieces.
“We just want to showcase those for new audiences and expose everybody to the stories that are timeless,” said Lewis.
Their version of “Hamlet” is an abridged, minimalistic version of the original. The typical runtime can be between three to four hours. Their version will roughly be around an hour and half to not lose audiences’ attention.
In their modern take, Sophie Lewis, the group’s social media manager, said they incorporated many different elements that are not found in other productions of the play for younger audiences to fully understand what Shakespeare was saying through his work. The play also focuses on the struggles of modern youth.
“We wanted to highlight some of the different themes within the play, specifically relating to youth and to the struggles of what it is to be young, mental health, and all this stuff,” said Aiden.
What sets this company apart from others is that it is made up of the youth of Santa Clarita, they said. Many of the cast are local high school students. Aiden wanted to emphasize that because this show is produced by the youth, it is meant for all audiences. They invite all ages to attend and have a good time.
“This is one of his greatest works for a reason and we want more people to be able to see that,” said Aiden.
Tickets are $10 at the door or can be reserved by direct messaging their Instagram: tris_theatre.co.
The play will be at Ignite Studio, located at 27927 Smyth Drive.
