Hamlet

Mark Prince - Director Mark Prince is the founding member of Jester Collective, a theatre company that harnesses the transformative power of theatre to inspire and promote social progress. Productions are accessible and socially conscious, using compelling storytelling to address important contemporary issues. Jester Collective strives to support actors in honing their craft as aspiring talent or as veterans returning to the industry. Mark was also a founding member of Ruckus Ensemble, a theatre company dedicated to producing a play which helps to raise awareness about the traumatic brain injury experience, and was a co-creator with Collective Disruption, an ensemble of artists and researchers who developed an innovative research-informed play dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia. Mark is a stage director who has been creating theatre for over three decades. His career includes the direction and devising of new plays, novel adaptations, applied theatre aimed at knowledge transfer, and the re-imaging of some of the world’s most popular classic plays. Mark has directed plays written by Federico Garcia Lorca (Blood Wedding), Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None), Brandon Thomas (Charley’s Aunt), Anton Chekhov (Uncle Vanya), Peter Shaffer (Equus), and William Shakespeare (Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, and Much Ado About Nothing). As a stage actor, he has appeared at the Stratford Festival of Canada, toured with The Reduced Shakespeare Company, and played at Gielgud Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Greenwich Theatre, and Theatre Royal Stratford East. His international work with TNT Theatre has taken him to dozens of countries worldwide. ​A passionate advocate for the transformative power of theatre, Mark brings a combination of rigorous training, broad performance experience, and a deep commitment to inclusive storytelling to everything Jester Collective creates.

Abigail has several decades experience as a Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Income and Communications and Chief Operating Officer. She was also Director of Strategy for Children, Young People at Arts Council England for 9 years and a secondary school teacher and theatre performer, tour booker and administrator. She attended Cambridge University and trained at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts. Abigail toured internationally with classical theatre and site-specific productions throughout the 90’s and more recently has been in 7 short films and numerous stage productions, including as Paulina Escobar in Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden and Queenie in Blackadder. Alongside her work as a performer, Abigail is an experienced producer and fundraiser, bringing creativity, vision and meticulous attention to every project she undertakes.

Gabriel is an actor and lighting and sound designer. He trained as an actor at Identity School of Acting and most recently was sound and lighting designer of Lear for Jester Collective and Of Mice and Men, Blue Orange, and Kelly at the OSO Arts Centre.

David is assistant director for Hamlet. He has previously assisted director Mark Prince in Lear for Jester Collective and Much Ado About Nothing.

Jennifer Taillefer is a London-based set and costume designer, with a focus on eco-scenography and integration of the Theatre Green Book. Design credits include: Greenland (dir. Rupert Hands, LAMDA), Earthquakes in London (dir. Nicky Allpress, LAMDA), Macbeth (dir. Jaq Bessell, GSA), The Watsons (dir. Grainne Byrne, GSA), The Love of the Nightingale (dir. Dom Rouse, GSA), Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Jaq Bessell, GSA), I’m With You (dir. Bernardo Leyte, short film), Wonderland (dir. Sarah Argent, City of London Sinfonia), Scrunch (dir. Sarah Argent, Unicorn Theatre, the Egg), Big Thinging (dir. Andrew Long, Sephiro Theatre). Jenn also works as a theatre sustainability consultant and facilitator. jenntaillefer.com