Hamlet 360: Virtual Reality Shakespeare

You don’t need a ticket to see the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s most recent production of Hamlet. You don’t even need to leave your house. All you need is a virtual reality device. Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit is an hour-long virtual reality adaptation of Shakespeare’s play that puts you in the center of Shakespeare’s tragedy. We asked Commonwealth Shakespeare Company director Steve Maler and cinematographer Matthew Niederhauser of the virtual reality company Sensorium about creating the experience. They talk about the joys, challenges, and opportunities that come with adapting Shakespeare for virtual reality. How can VR augment the experience of watching Hamlet? What makes watching Hamlet in VR different from watching the play onstage or on your TV? Can VR make Shakespeare’s plays more accessible? Maler and Niederhauser are interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit is a co-production with Google, and was created in partnership with public television station WGBH in Boston. Watch Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit at WGBH.org/Hamlet-360 or on YouTube. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published April 16, 2019. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This podcast episode, “I Am Thy Father’s Spirit,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano and Evan Marquart at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California, Kevin O'Connell at the PRX Podcast Garage in Boston, and Larry Josephson and Ben Ellman at The Radio Foundation in New York.