Director Paddy Hayter has pared down the script, eliminating the tragedy's political aspects and focusing the central family drama. The set is composed of earth, water and fire, lending the production a further elemental quality. A Greek style chorus evokes a theatrical style simpler than that found even in Shakespeare's Elizabethan London. Steven Epp plays the Melancholy Dane. Barbra Berlovitz is his mother, Gertrude, Vincent Gracieux her villainous new husband Claudius. Sarah Agnew plays the abused Ophelia. Eric Jensen provides live, original music.

Theatre de la Jeune Lune got its French name in 1978, when it was founded in Paris by a group of French and American theatre artists, including Berlovitz and Gracieux, who had studied together at the renowned Ecole Jacques Lecoq. The troupe moved to Minneapolis in 1985. The company is known for its eclectic repertoire and has long added a experimental aspect to the Twin Cities theatre scene.

Tickets are $10, $20 and $30 and can be ordered by visiting Telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.