Why a Frenchman chose to do Hamlet in Hindi

That search for emotional truth shapes his reading of Shakespeare’s most discussed protagonist. While Hamlet is often viewed as a paralysed prince incapable of action, Naghmouchin sees him differently. “The play is complex but not complicated,” he says. What makes Hamlet enduring, he argues, is not indecision but inquiry. “There is a difference between doubt and dilemma. Hamlet has doubt, not a dilemma. And he asks questions of established structures by staying within the system, not abandoning it or turning into a rebel. He represents not the power we inherit but the power we choose to seize. How many of us can ask questions of power to authoritative regimes?”, he asks. In an age of instant outrage and rigidities, that quality feels contemporary.

Hamlet and Ophelia on stage

Naghmouchin believes the play resonates deeply with present-day India and the wider world because it interrogates power, corruption and moral responsibility. Drawing parallels with the Mahabharata, he sees Hamlet wrestling with a timeless question: how does one seek justice without blackening one’s soul? “And although Hamlet gets sucked in by circumstance to act in a predictable way, he knows he is slipping. He is self-aware,” says the director.

The production itself strips away period grandeur in favour of contemporary immediacy. Performed by a young repertory whose actors are in their early 20s, the play rejects romantic notions of Shakespearean tragedy. “My first task is to tell the story truthfully and simply,” he says. “These actors come from today’s social reality, so I ask them to be true to that reality.” Rather than presenting Hamlet as a distant classical figure, Naghmouchin views him as a young man overwhelmed by forces larger than himself, struggling to navigate a chaotic world. “I work with youth because I see hope in them as evidenced by youth-led movements globally. They can imagine another possibility. If they lose hope too, we will be lost forever,” he says.

With identity politics, polarisation, conspiracy theories and declining trust in institutions shaping public life globally, many theatre lovers have described our times as Hamlet-like. “Do we need a Hamlet today? Absolutely,” he says. Yet he rejects simplistic hero worship. Hamlet’s integrity lies not in moral purity but in his willingness to engage with difficult questions. “He goes to the end of the journey,” Naghmouchin says. “He gets pulled into conflict. He reacts to context. The important thing is what he chooses to do with what is thrown at him.”

His interpretation also foregrounds the contradictions at the heart of the prince. Hamlet speaks luminescently of love, yet contributes to the destruction of both his lover Ophelia and mother Gertrude. “That is the paradox. Both are judged, become objects of Hamlet’s anger and are denied full control over their circumstances. And both die.” In fact, Naghmouchin wonders why Shakespeare sacrificed the two women. Across Europe, he notes, some actresses have become reluctant to play Ophelia or Gertrude because of the violence directed at them within the narrative.

Naghmouchin has absorbed lessons from two of modern theatre’s greatest directors. Mnouchkine, founder of Théâtre du Soleil, taught him the art of observation, making him sit beside her in silence for six months. Brook, by contrast, embodied generosity. “He would ask, ‘What do you think of the scene? How were the actors today?’” recalls Naghmouchin. Brook believed theatre itself was a space free of simplistic notions of good and evil. Those influences are visible in a production that draws lightly on Indian aesthetics. The stage is spare, furnished with Kashmiri carpets, while the music incorporates sitar, sarod and the evocative strains of Raag Bhimpalasi.

Ultimately, Naghmouchin’s Hamlet is less about a prince seeking revenge than about a human being confronting the consequences of choice. “He is wise,” the director says, “but he becomes a victim of circumstances. He cannot always control his actions. Still, he keeps seeking answers.” For Naghmouchin, that act of questioning may be the most radical form of action of all.

The play will be staged at SRCPA, New Delhi, July 3-5