Hamlet
Author: Alexander Kuprin
Read “Hamlet” by Alexander Kuprin in Russian and English in Bibliott on your phone and tablet.
Languages: RU, English
Genre: Historical, Satire, Short story
Free to read
A provincial actor playing Hamlet watches the young Yureva eclipse him on stage and suffers the painful collapse of his own fame.
Characters
- Kostromsky (Alexander Yevgrafitch) — a celebrated provincial actor: An ageing actor whose pride and dependence are exposed during a performance.
- Yureva — a young actress playing Ophelia: A previously unnoticed actress who unexpectedly reveals great talent.
- the barber — a theatrical barber: The obsequious witness to Kostromsky’s preparation and collapse.
- the stage manager — the manager running the performance: He scrambles to replace Ophelia and later begs Kostromsky in vain to finish the play.
- Yakovlef (Valerie Nikolaitch) — the patriarch of provincial actors, playing the king: He remembers Mochalov, denies Kostromsky greatness, and is first to spot Yureva’s talent.
- Milevskaya — the actress cast as Ophelia: She cries off five minutes before curtain, leaving the part of Ophelia open for Yureva.