When I learned that I was victorious in the RADA ballot I immediately realised how incredibly lucky I was when so many of my friends were unsuccessful. I knew that there would be countless people who entered the ballot and didn’t win, and countless more who had no means to travel, so I decided to recreate the whole play in LEGO, and thus LEGO Hamlet was born!
I AM VICTORIOUS! #RADAHamlet pic.twitter.com/vK8U61sCsp
— Lego Loki (@Loki_Lego) August 9, 2017
I saw Rada Hamlet on Saturday the 16th of September at 7.30pm, and spent some time outside the venue posing for photos.
Inside the venue enjoying the atmosphere.
At 7.30pm I took my seat and vowed to myself that I would pay complete attention, and remember as much as I could, as I felt I owed it to my fellow fans to try to recreate the play in as much detail as possible.
The play was simply incredible. I have visited the theatre many times, but it did not prepare me for how close the actors were to the audience. It was an incredibly emotional experience, and as soon as I left the theatre, I began to write my notes.
My notes were hastily scribbled, but I began to plan the characters, and the theatre design itself.
Parts were purchase from eBay and other LEGO retailers, and gradually it began to take shape.
I had to custom create many of the parts, including the carpet, which used 16 2 x 2 tiles, so it would be easily removable from the theatre.
And finally the audience for LEGO Hamlet took their seats…
The design of the theatre is modular, which was incredibly important during photography. I learned during the creation of Brick High-Rise that tearing down sets to create a new one was an incredibly tiring business, so it was important that I would be able to shoot the RADA set from any angle with the minimum of changes.
The walls of the Theatre consist of one full length blue wall with windows and a door, one full length black wall, and two half length black walls that can be joined together.
This allowed me the freedom to shoot from any angle in the theatre without a major rebuild.
I thank you for joining me, and I hope you enjoy LEGO Hamlet.
Reactions to LEGO Hamlet
Have just seen this site. We did Hamlet @RADA_London last year. This is the most wonderful salute to our production. Very detailed. Very Hamlet. And very funny! https://t.co/joiF3ntvsd
— Lolita Chakrabarti (@Lolitachakra) October 6, 2018
This is really funny. RADA Hamlet in Lego. https://t.co/avDOpRjoej
— Adrian Lester (@AdrianLester) October 6, 2018
Looks wonderful! Can’t believe it’s been a whole year!
— Eleanor de Rohan (@EleanordeRohan) September 29, 2018
Thanks for sharing! Always look forward to your tweets