Shakespeare's Ophelia and friends fight off zombies, witches and fairy foes at the Louisiana Tech University production of "Living Dead in Denmark," which runs January 30 through February 4 at the Arthur W. Stone Theatre.
Living Dead in Denmark is a modern-day, post-apocalyptic tale of Ophelia searching for her lost love in Qui Nguyen's sequel to "Hamlet." The show takes Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Juliet, and Horatio, some of Shakespeare's greatest characters, and puts them together to survive while fighting zombies, witches, and evil fairies.
"I think this show is everything you wish Shakespeare was," says Stage Manager Katie Brumfield. The play features extensive stage combat and martial arts directed by Mark D. Guinn. The main character Ophelia can be seen wielding her signature weapon, double wakizashi swords in this video. The show displays a wide use of other weaponry, including knives, broadswords, spears, and axes. While it is the zombie apocalypse, the show keeps the gore level PG-13 and tends to focus on the fighting element. The fight scenes include intense rock music to really immerse the audience in the experience.
Qui Nguyen, an alumnus of Tech, wrote this show as well as "She Kills Monsters," which sold out the Stone Theatre for the first time in over 20 years in 2017. "Living Dead in Denmark" has been described as funny, thrilling and heartwarming in all the right ways.
Living Dead in Denmark runs at the Stone Theatre at Louisiana Tech University January 30 through February 3 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee performance Sunday, February 4 at 2 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit their website or call 318-257-3942.