R.C. Staab
Writer, Playwright, Lyricist
Music, Lyrics & Co-Author
Daniel Sturman
Co-Author
R.C. Staab
Directed by
April Nash
Theatre & Box Office
Norwich Puppet Theatre, St James, Whitefriars, Norwich NR3 1TN. Ticket price £16 / Concessions £12
Running Time
2hrs, 30 minutes with intermission
Accessibility
All performances have unreserved seating. Please note that there is a flight of stairs to get into the auditorium. If you require the front accessible row or step-free access, please book Accessible tickets.
Norwich UK: August 2025
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2:30
7:30
About The Show
Hamlet + Star Wars + The Muppets = Space Hamlet. Space Hamlet catapults the timeless tale of Prince Hamlet into a dazzling distant future, where the Denmark System is ruled by space Vikings and epic battles play out among the stars. After the murder of his father, King Ham, young Prince Hamlet embarks on a cosmic quest for vengeance against his uncle Claudius, in a universe brimming with adventure, intrigue and betrayal.
Selected Songs
Creative Team
Music, Lyrics & Co-Author: Daniel Sturman is a musical theatre writer and composer from the UK. His first outing was the 2011 New York “Pick of the Fringe” Zombie Wedding, co-written with R.C. Staab. More recently his show Yippie Ki Yay! – a musical for the Die Hard movie fans, enjoyed a sold-out regional production in the UK in 2023. He is currently leading the creative team for the 2024 Reddit Musical
Co-Author: R.C. Staab is a New York-based playwright, librettist and lyricist whose musicals and plays have been produced in New York, San Francisco, the Midwest and England. He is a two-time nominee for England's Best New Song competition. Among his musicals and plays are How the Westons Won which ran off-Broadway in December 2018 at Jefferson Market Library directed by Joe Barros and co-produce by Out of the Box Theatricals. His musical, Dumb Luck, won the TRU Voices Musical Series and was one of three shows featured at the Music Theatre of Madison's Festival of New Musicals. In collaboration with Daniel Sturman, he wrote Zombie Wedding, featured at FringeNYC. He is the author two books, NYC Scavenger: The Ultimate Search of NYC's Hidden Treasures and 100 Things to Do at the Jersey Shore Before You Die. He frequently writes for travel publications about his and his wife's adventures from Norway to Patagonia and around the world. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Valari, and their dog, Skye. www.rcstaab.com
Director, Producer, Designer: April Nash (she/her) is no stranger to the stage, having been in many productions from an early age, came to the Norwich scene in 2013. Roles have included: Jolene in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (CSODs); Louise in Ghost (Sound Ideas); Dora Bailey in Singing in the Rain (Sound Ideas); Shirley in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Sound Ideas); Chiffon in Little Shop of Horrors (Sound Ideas); Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (Sound Ideas); The Bakers Wife (Sound Ideas); Little Becky Two-shoes in Urinetown (Sound Ideas); Kate Monster in Avenue Q (Threshold Theatre Co); Girl #2 in I Love you, you’re perfect. Now Change! (Mixed Voice); Oolie/Donna in City of Angels (Threshold Theatre Co); Julia Sullivan in The Wedding Singer (Threshold Theatre Co); Girl #1 in Rent (Mixed Voice); Jewel in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Westacre Theatre Co). April has also sung in a wide variety of concerts/singing appearances and choirs, most memorably being the self-produced bar show Songs in the Wrong Order (Sound Ideas) and This is a Concert (Sound Ideas). April is a proud co-founder a of the multi-award winning Sound Ideas Theatre Company, and over the last few years the new-works focused Open Door Theatre Company. Her directing credits include the sell-out Alan Ayckbourn play Taking Steps (CSODs) at Sherringham Little Theatre, which won Best Play in 2020. A Chorus Line (Threshold Theatre Co) which was nominated for best musical in 2022 and self-produced and directed Yippee-Ki-Yay The Musical Parody for the Die Hard Fans (Open Door Theatre) which opened to sell-out Norwich audiences in 2023. For 2024 she co-directed an open-air production of Wind in the Willows (Echo Youth Theatre) and the play On Monday Next (Pockthorpe Players) as a charity fundraiser for Norwich Puppet Theatre.
April has been with Space Hamlet since its early development, and prides herself on suggesting ‘What if Polonius was a puppet?’ Having sung a few early demos for Gertrude, she’s loved working on this production and seeing her talented cast and crew bring her ideas to life.
Executive Producer, Production Coordinator: Elle Overvoorde -- see bio below.
Cast
Nic Gordon (Hamlet)
Nic (he/him) is a graphic designer and illustrator who has been performing since he was 7. Originally from Derby, he moved to Norwich in 2016 to study illustration at NUA. Since then he has been involved with a variety of theatre groups across Norfolk, most recently playing Anthony in Sweeney Todd (Threshold Theatre Company). He performs in drag all over East Anglia as Jester Mirage, enjoying combining his musical theatre side with his love of making costumes, props and puppets. Since last summer Nic has also started learning aerial silks, on his endless mission to collect All The Skills. He is very excited to be working with Open Door Theatre for the first time on a show that combines his love of Sci-fi, puppets and camp!
Amy Beven (Horatio, Polonius, Others)
A graduate of Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company, Amy is delighted to be rejoining the musical theatre world after a couple of years in music (singing in Same Old Story) and theatre (Comic Potential at Sewell Barn Theatre, Fantastic Mr Fox at the Maddermarket Theatre).
Amy was thrilled to work with Open Door Theatre on their previous musical, Yippee-Ki-Yay: The Musical for the Die Hard fans, taking on multiple roles, costumes, accents, and time itself as she ran from one scene to another. You would have thought she’d learnt her lesson, but no!
As much as she is thrilled to be starring in multiple roles again, she has little time to breathe, let alone change characters, and would ask for both patience and a much appreciated pint of [Insert Ale Here] at the bar after the show.
Lauren Bryant (Gertrude, Bone, Others)
Lauren (she/her) is a Norwich based performer having trained at Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company and Rose Bruford. She is most often found performing as her drag king alter ego Will Power. She co-hosts the largest queer cabaret in East Anglia, Now! That's What I Call... Drag! which originated in 2022. She is a co-producer of adult pantomime company Now! That's Panto! which enters its third year of touring in 2026. She also co-produces LGBTQIA+ theatre company Now! That's Productions! which earlier in 2025 saw her become the first AFAB actor in the UK to perform the iconic role of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and also become one of only a handful of actors globally to play both Hedwig and Yitzhak. Lauren is thrilled to be originating the role of Gertrude in Space Hamlet and she looks forward to playing the sassiest of queens.
Lucas Fox (Claudius, Rag, Others)
Lucas (he/him) is a Norfolk-based actor and recent graduate of the University of East Anglia, where he rekindled his love for performance whilst studying Biological Science. A proud member of the National Youth Theatre, Lucas has a strong background in both musical theatre and devised work, with recent roles including Grantaire in Les Misérables (Norwich Theatre Royal), Jamie in The Last Five Years (UEA DMTS), and Peter in Wasp at the Camden Fringe (Camden People's Theatre). He’s also appeared in Spotlights: The Musical (The Other Palace) and has played Doody in Grease (UofC, Canada). Lucas is passionate about character-driven storytelling, and blending comedy and sincerity whether on stage or screen. Space Hamlet marks his first venture into Shakespeare-in-space territory – and he’s having an absolute blast.
Ruby Bardwell- Dix (Ophelia, Others)
Ruby (she/they) is an actor based in Norfolk, with a passion for musical theatre and Shakespeare. Ruby studied Theatre Arts at St Mary’s University Twickenham and has starred in theatre, film and television projects. After a few years of working as a baker, Ruby returned performing full-time and has been either singing and acting non-stop since 2021. Some of their favourite roles include Veronica in God Of Carnage, singing as part of The Lionheart Trio in Betty Blue Eyes, covering the role of Maria in The Sound Of Music at the Theatre Royal Norwich, playing Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet, Henry Bolingbroke in Richard II, multitouring in Burnt Coffee’s touring production of The Wind In The Willows. They were proud to appear in documentary ‘Forced Out’, as well as in a number of award winning short films. Space Hamlet will be the first time Ruby is originating a role and they are so excited to show this version of Ophelia to the world.
Acer Smith (Guildenbot, Fortinbras, Others)
Since moving to the Norwich at the age of 5, Acer (they/them) became fully immersed in music immediately. After studying percussion under Joby Burgess, Acer was a category audition finalist for BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2020. They were also a member of Aldeburgh Young Musicians for nine years, where they developed their skills as a percussionist and pianist.
Day to day, Acer is the Performing Artist in Residence at Norwich High School for Girls. They have had a large involvement within the local theatre scene for a number of years as an MD and Pit Musician, and is venturing out on stage for their second time ever as part of this brilliant show!
Elle Overvoorde (Laertes, Others)
Elle (She/her) has a life-long love of Shakespeare, singing and silliness. After a short stint at RADA studying Devising Theatre she took four successful productions to the Edinburgh Fringe, the last of which was a two woman production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2017 (No Friends Theatre Company). After a bit of a break Elle returned to musical theatre in the new Musical Yippee-kai-yay – A musical parody for Die Hard fans in 2023 (Open Door Theatre) as the villainous Hannah Grüber. Last year she graced the stage as Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd at the Norwich Playhouse (Threshold Theatre Company) and Avis in On Monday Next at the Norwich Puppet Theatre (Pockthorpe Players).
Shem Jacbos (King Ham, Others)
Shem (they/them) is a Norwich-based actor and voice actor. They studied at UEA and are a lover of stage combat or a goofy gag. They are very excited to be in their first musical. They may be recognised from Wind in the Willows (2024) with Burnt Coffee theatre, as a regular for The Foul Players interactive murder mysteries, and as the voice for the children’s Audio Guide at Norwich Castle. Shem directed for Maddermarket Theatre’s playwriting competition (2025) and was assistant director for Fantastic Mr Fox (2024) also at the Maddermarket.
