"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."
When Shakespeare sat down to write As You Like It over 400 years ago, even his boundless imagination couldn't have foreseen how far the definition of 'players' would stretch. Enter Grand Theft Hamlet, a one-of-a-kind machinima documentary that sees two out-of-work actors – Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen – attempting to put on a production of Hamlet inside the lawless virtual space of Grand Theft Auto Online during the UK's third COVID-mandated lockdown.
But even in that haze of questionable pandemic-era decisions – couch to 5K, an obsession with baking banana bread, Tiger King – why not stick to holding up Los Santos gas stations and buying yachts instead of putting on one of the Bard's most popular and iconic plays about family, revenge, and self-identity from your bedroom?
"[Grand Theft Auto] is such a kind of notorious thing in our culture that people, even if they've never actually played it, think they know what it is and it's notorious for its kind of extreme violence," Crane explains. "And what struck me when I started playing it was, yes, it is kind of chaotic and violent, but it's also incredibly beautiful. And I think that mix of beauty and violence seemed to actually hit the nail on the head of how Hamlet sees the world."
Co-director Pinny Grylls, who acts both as camera operator and interrogating filmmaker during Grand Theft Hamlet, adds, "I think I remember you saying to me quite early on that this is a perfect place for Hamlet. 'The rotten state of Denmark' is like Los Santos – if Donald Trump had designed the world, it would probably look a bit like that in terms of a dog-eat-dog world."
Filmed entirely using the limited toolset of GTA Online – including a first-person view, director mode, and the in-game phone camera – Crane and Grylls battled logistical headaches that, we imagine, Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan have never had to deal with – including a gun-toting audience.
"The streaming viewpoint was through my eyes, so I had to not die. If I respawned near where [the production] was, it was fine" Grylls laughs. "We kind of knew there was going to be something going wrong."
A very palpable hit
"Yeah, they might shoot us. They might think we're rubbish," Crane says. "The feeling that anything could happen from one moment to the next – someone could literally turn up and blow you away – that's actually really exciting and dramatic."
Talk of Grand Theft Hamlet soon landed at Rockstar Games' doorstep, with Crane revealing the developer had "become aware of the project quite early on" and, while they weren't involved in the project, were "really supportive" and "appreciate[d] us as fans."
"It was hard to get in touch with them, but we did manage to in the end," Crane continues. "I think they really appreciated how we were using the game in this creative sandbox way, because that's really what it was designed for."
Grylls adds, "I was reading about how the people who make the game are constantly trying to work out how people could possibly use it… but I don't think they ever expected anyone to put on Hamlet inside there. I think they were delighted by that, actually."
"The feeling that anything could happen from one moment to the next – someone could literally turn up and blow you away – that's actually really exciting and dramatic"
Through the course of Grand Theft Hamlet, Sam and Mark assemble a motley crew of players for their final performance of Hamlet (something described as a "miracle" by Grylls, as the UK exited lockdown and everyone went about their lives). They include Nora, who recently came out as trans to their family, Lizzy, who immediately grasps the unique form of Grand Theft Auto Online's janky animations, and the alien suit-wearing ParTeb, who rides a jet and acts as the play's heavy-hitting security.
But, amid the chaos, Grylls cuts through the sound and fury of Los Santos' sprawling metropolis to prod at both lead actors' mental states, including marital arguments (Grylls and Crane are married with two children) and Mark – living alone during lockdown – struggling with the project. In turn, Grand Theft Hamlet grapples with the documentary's hidden message – a poignant meditation on male loneliness and connection through gaming.
"I do think, increasingly, game spaces offer people who probably find it quite difficult to talk about feelings in real life a kind of safe space to make friends and interact," Grylls offers. "I was really judgmental of those spaces… and I want to show that I've changed my mind about that. I wanted to tell a story about these two guys – almost a Withnail and I sort of story – about how vulnerable they are and how they're feeling about the world themselves."
While you'll have to discover for yourself whether the play was a success, the final act of Grand Theft Hamlet calls to mind another familiar Grand Theft Auto refrain. Namely, San Andreas protagonist CJ's iconic opening line, 'Aw, shit. Here we go again.' As players logged off, Crane was left at a juncture.
"At the end of doing the production, it was an incredible relief, an amazing feeling of achievement" Crane exhales. "But you also get that sense of, 'OK, we've done that. What do we do now?' There's a slightly deflationary feeling that I think people realize from when they've been on any big creative endeavor. You get to the end and it's like, 'Wow, we did it' but there can be a slight blues or something afterwards."
Grand Theft Hamlet is released in UK & Irish cinemas by Tull Stories from December 6, then streams globally on MUBI in early 2025.
For more, check out the upcoming movies headed your way over the next 12 months.
