Testimonials

“Your sensory pores are opened. You leave more awake than you arrived”
– David Jenkins, audience member

“This is fantastic…Using miraculous and historically charged places, transforming them for people’s imaginations, bringing people together for transformative experiences, you are right in the middle of the nuts and bolts of DOING IT, wresting the meaning of theater back to its purpose!” – John Hadden, founding member of Shakespeare & Co

We Players is such an inspiring light in the world.The sense of community around We Players is what makes it feel like a whole different animal in the arts world.” – Theron Shaw

“We Players’ performance at Fort Point (2008) was one of the most compelling theater experiences I have ever had.” – Howard Levitt, Director of Communications and Partnerships, Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Hamlet on Alcatraz

“… the final scene was staged outside in the main prison yard, lit by bonfires and kerosene lamps. As all but Horatio lay dead on the lonely windswept stage, the city twinkled like a jewel box across the Bay, reminding us of the preciousness of freedom and how quickly all is lost.” – Sharry Wright, audience member

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of standing behind bars in a tiny cell, listening to Hamlet ponder, “To be or not to be?” while the lights of San Francisco twinkle in the not-that-far-away distance, both gorgeous and haunting.” – Katie Baker, SF Appeal

“This is an amazing artistic effort that creates an experience that truly transports you into an another world. The acting is excellent, but the artistic staging and production is simply remarkable in the use of the unique terrain and visual elements and lights and sounds of Alcatraz that bring the audience into a magical experience of Shakespeare in the middle of the Bay. The visual beauty of this performance will knock your socks off.” – audience review, SF Gate

“The audience was intimately mixed with the cast and the setting such that the brilliant words were coming from in front, behind and ultimately inside my head. Thinking about the prisoners that lived here I saw I too have been a prisoner of my doubts and fears. I feel much more alive having seen it.” – Andy Wolpert, audience review on SF Gate

“I am so grateful to you for this Hamlet, one of the most moving “art” experiences I’ve ever had” – Judith Tannenbaum

“We were blown away by the performance. This production will be one of my favorite San Francisco memories for years to come. Thank you for raising such compelling questions, thank you for breathing life into the broken spaces of Alcatraz. It was truly a majestic occasion.” – Dr. Suzie Vlcek

“The most emotionally connected I’ve ever been to Shakespeare.” – Paul McDermott

“The action always happened so close by that I felt like an intruder on the most private of moments. There paced Hamlet past the entrance of the prison cell I sat inside, shaking an uncomprehending Ophelia in his storm of rage, and I could see the brokenness on her face not ten feet in front of me.” - Annelise Mah

“From here on out, all plays should “transform public spaces into realms of participatory theater.” Through “Hamlet” on Alcatraz, We Players have set my expectations high for other plays. My appreciation for the arts have increased 10-fold.” –  Anna Mattazaro, Stanford College Freshman

“The most amazing and inspired performance I have seen all year!” - Frieda de Lackner

“The play was colorful and clearly so dynamic. The acting was impeccable. The interpretation was so lovely. And even though I was only watching, I felt like part of something.” – Beth, audience member

“I stood alone next to Ophelia inside an Alcatraz cell while she overheard the “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy. For the first time, I listened to it not from inside Hamlet’s mind, but a loved one’s.” – Cameron Maddux, audience member

“The dynamism of this production was unmatched by anything I’ve experienced before… This was a thrilling, fundamentally moving (literally) theatrical and cultural experience.” – Lauren Gunderson, The Huffington Post

All I can say is WOW. I have seen Hamlet performed several times but never did the play touch me as viscerally as your production. It was cinematic, emotional, provocative and fabulous! Can’t wait to see what you do next…” – Jill Lynch