There’s barely a year that goes by in the Australian arts calendar without a significant production of Hamlet (ArtsHub reviewed two just in 2024, here and here), but the latest adaptation of one of the Western canon’s most performed works may be genuinely original. Grand Theft Hamlet, a new documentary film directed by the UK’s Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane, documents the pair’s attempt to stage Hamlet in the chaotic world of the online video game Grand Theft Auto V.
Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most successful video games ever. Its long-awaited 2025 sequel is likely to be the biggest release of the year. It’s online world, populated by millions of players, takes place in a fictionalised version of Los Angeles. As the title implies, crime and violence are the central gameplay mechanics.
For actors Crane and Grylls, the choice of venue seemed a natural fit. “People are violent in Shakespeare,” Crane told the ABC. “It’s f***ing brutal.” Indeed, one of the funniest sections of their documentary film shows Crane and Grylls approaching other players and offering them the chance to be cast in the show – only to be regularly punched, shot at or burned to a crisp.
While Grand Theft Hamlet is one of the most thorough investigations of Shakespeare in video games, it is not alone. The open world game Fallout 76, played in a post-apocalyptic dystopia, features a band of dedicated players who tour the virtual world performing Shakespeare’s plays.
The documentary Grand Theft Hamlet is screening on Mubi.
