Globe columnist Peter Grant discovers why Wirral’s Off the Ground Theatre company love a certain great Dane with attitude.

Wirral Globe arts ambassadors Off the Ground believe they have the ideal cast for their punchy, no-holds-bard production of Hamlet - their very own Youth Theatre.

Connor Wray, production manager of the West Kirby-based award-winning team, is clearly excited about this new take on the Bard’s tragedy by the talented 16-18 year olds in the cast.

This is also ground-breaking production in other ways as the company will be making their debut at a venue called Oh Me Oh My! in Water Street, Liverpool city centre.

He tells the Globe: "It is one of the greatest plays ever-written - Shakespeare’s most famous portrayal of a troubled youth.

"Fast-paced and dangerous, aggressive and accountable, our eldest youth group will present a world where you’re as likely to win the King’s favour as you are to meet an early demise at his hands." 

The play takes place in a war-ravaged Denmark where Claudius has taken the throne that rightly belongs to the young Prince Hamlet.

"When Hamlet discovers that Claudius came to power by killing his father, he knows he must take his revenge on the ‘false’ monarch.

The problem is, can Hamlet actually bring himself to kill.

Connor adds that the classic tale is brought into the modern day, with a Hamlet as angry with the usurper King as he is with the state of his home nation, and a ruler that is as terrifyingly manipulative and self-preserving as many politicians in the real world: "From metaphors to mobile phones, from cowardice to cameras, from Swedish House Mafia to Shakespeare – as one of our students put it.

"This an all out-action Hamlet. An in-your-face production of a true classic." 

From April 11 to 13 with tickets available to buy on the door or via www.offtheground.co.uk