Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982), a distinguished University of Canterbury
alumna, was one of the greatest crime writers of the twentieth century.
Marsh was also a gifted Shakespearean director, establishing her
reputation in 1943 with the Canterbury University Drama Society
modern-dress production of 'Hamlet'. Fast-paced, with a deftly-cut
script, and featuring especially commissioned incidental music by
Douglas Lilburn, Ngaio Marsh's production of 'Hamlet' was a hit with
wartime audiences. Marsh's 1943 'Hamlet' production typescript is
reproduced here for the first time, together with Lilburn's previously
unpublished music and a selection of archival photographs. An
introductory essay by Polly Hoskins examines the staging of the
production and the wartime context in which the play was performed,
offering broader reflection on Marsh's compositional approach, and a
note from Robert Hoskins introduces Lilburn's music. This edition makes
the perfect starting point for enriching our understanding of Ngaio
Marsh as a Shakespearean director and producer, and presents a fresh
perspective on New Zealand's theatre history.