The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith Hamlet Q&A - Michael Lesslie
Apr 20, 2026
Michael Lesslie, a screenwriter and playwright known for stage and film adaptations, discusses his cinematic take on Hamlet starring Riz Ahmed. He explains relocating royalty to a South Asian real-estate dynasty, choosing Hamlet's POV, staging the soliloquy as a dangerous car sequence, and transforming the play-within-the-play into interpretive dance.
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Trust Your Gut And Know When To Push Back
- Learn when to stand up and when to collaborate: Lesslie regrets not defending some choices early in theater production, and advises trusting your gut as a playwright/screenwriter.
- He found preview edits (cutting 20 pages after opening) showed actors and staging reveal what the script truly needs.
Add Intimacy To Make Ophelia's Death Resonate
- Typing out the play made Lesslie realize Hamlet lacks scenes that build an emotional bond with Ophelia, so the adaptation adds shared moments to make her death devastating.
- He deliberately creates scenes of intimacy and friendship with Laertes to heighten later loss.
Cut Landscape Lines And Repetition For Cinema
- When adapting Shakespeare, strip lines that describe landscapes or repeat ideas because film images can carry those details and repetition reduces cinematic momentum.
- Prioritize clarity and emotional punch; keep the clearest poetic lines and let image and silence do the rest.
