“Hamlet Camp” Boasts High Octane Chemistry Of Shakespeare Vets

You’d better know your Shakespeare well, especially Hamlet, so you can “get” the high-voltage, sparks flying, rapid-fire dialogue among the three performers in this production. 

Brendan Cowell, Ewen Leslie, and Toby Schmitz return to the stage after the sell-out season of Hamlet Camp at Carriageworks in January 2025.

They are so comfortable with one another on stage that you’d think they’d been close buddies off stage for years, all being born within a year of one another.  

Initially, the actors introduce themselves by playing out their early biography so we understand where each has come from. 

Sydney-born Brendon Powell completed a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre/Media at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst and then went on to a brilliant career of writing, acting and directing in theatre. His roles are many in film, theatre and television.  

He received his first Logie award at 29 for his “Most Outstanding Actor” in “Love My Way”, followed by nine more awards for his acting, followed by awards for writing and adapting television mini-series and feature film.

Leslie started out on the stage at age 10, winning a role in a children’s series from age 12-14. He graduated from WAAPA in 2000 at age 20. He moved to Sydney and started winning awards from 2005, including a Sydney Theatre Company award for Best Actor in a Lead Role (in The War of the Roses) in 2009. At least 24 awards for acting followed.

Also a West Australian, Toby Schmitz came to Sydney and graduated NIDA when he was 22. He is an all-rounder, winning awards for acting and directing in theatre and film. He is also a playwright,  winning the Sydney Theatre Company’s Patrick White Playwrights’ Award with his play Lucky, which was later produced by the Australian Theatre for Young People.

Both Schmitz and Cowell have published  novels, and, would you believe, all three have played the title role of Hamlet, the inspiration for Hamlet Camp. 

One can imagine the three at a backyard bar-b-q, hilariously riffing off each other while their ladies noisily occupied the lounge room. You may have to know Hamlet as well as they do to get all the references.

Producer Claudia Haines-Cappeau is also a performer in the Ophelia dance, which reminds the men of their female counterpoint.

Steve Francis’s original music and sound design and Jimi Rawlings’ lighting design perfectly complement the three actors as they fill the three-sided stage with energy and movement.

I heard churlish comments about “diction” and “juvenilia”, but personally, I loved this show which reminded me of the thrill of using language to express humour, pathos, regret and love.

In this production, you will have the opportunity of appreciating the work of three of our most highly awarded actors as they interact with one another in their dynamic production.

Hamlet Camp runs at Carriageworks until January 25.