ACT I
Elsinore, Denmark. King Hamlet has died, mourned by his son, Prince Hamlet of Denmark. The king’s funeral is followed fast by the marriage of his widow, Gertrude, to his brother, Claudius. Hamlet is deeply disturbed by his father’s untimely death and his mother’s “o’er hasty marriage,” a state aggravated by the appearance of King Hamlet’s ghost, informing Hamlet that he was in fact murdered by his brother, now husband to Gertrude and King of Denmark. The dead king asks that his son avenge his death by killing Claudius.

Unsure what to do and behaving erratically, Hamlet rejects his soul mate and lover, Ophelia, and dismisses his former classmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, whom Claudius has summoned to Elsinore to help discover the cause of Hamlet’s apparent madness.

A group of players arrives in Elsinore. Hamlet asks them to perform a scene mimicking the murder of King Hamlet by his brother. Claudius reacts violently to the performance, proof in Hamlet’s eyes of his stepfather’s guilt. Called to his mother’s chamber to explain his actions, Hamlet comes upon Claudius deep in prayer, yet finds himself unable to kill him.

Once with his mother, Hamlet hears a muffled cry and, thinking that Claudius is spying on him, runs his sword through a tapestry, killing the unsuspecting Polonius, Ophelia’s father. Hamlet then berates his mother for her shamelessness and debauchery. His father’s ghost appears, reminding Hamlet of his primary mission to avenge his death.

第一幕
丹麥，赫爾辛格。丹麥國王駕崩，哈姆雷特王子哀悼死去的父王。國王的喪禮過後，他的遺孀葛楚特隨即與國王的弟弟克勞狄斯結婚。哈姆雷特對父親的遽然離世與母親的迅速再婚深感不安，尤其當國王的鬼魂告訴哈姆雷特殺死自己的其實就是自己的弟弟，即是現今葛楚特的丈夫和丹麥國王。死去的國王要求兒子殺死克勞狄斯為他報仇。

哈姆雷特茫然若失，行為開始失常。他拒絕了與他心有靈犀的情人奧菲莉亞，克勞狄斯又傳召哈姆雷特的舊友羅森克蘭茨和吉爾登斯特，到赫爾辛格協助找尋哈姆雷特變得瘋狂的原因，都被哈姆雷特辭退。

一班演員抵達赫爾辛格。哈姆雷特要求他們模擬國王的弟弟弒君的情景。克勞狄斯對這表演極度反感，這在哈姆雷特眼中就是克勞狄斯殺害自己父親的證據。哈姆雷特被召喚到母親的房間解釋他的行動，其間遇到了正在潛心禱告的克勞狄斯，發覺自己卻對他下不了手。

與母親作伴時，哈姆雷特隱約聽到一把哭泣聲，懷疑克勞狄斯在暗中監視他，他一劍刺穿掛氈，殺死了毫無防範的奧菲莉亞的父親波洛涅斯。哈姆雷特於是痛斥母親無恥淫蕩。他父親的鬼魂出現，提醒哈姆雷特的首要任務是為他報仇。


INTERMISSION
中場休息


ACT II
Laertes, Polonius’s son, returns to Elsinore to avenge his father’s death, threatening Claudius and his kingship. Claudius manages to allay Laertes’s violence by convincing him that Hamlet is the guilty one: Together, Claudius and Laertes conspire to kill him.

Ophelia appears, apparently driven mad by Hamlet’s rejection and the death of her father. This only serves to harden Laertes’s resolve for vengeance, as does, moments later, Ophelia’s death—she has drowned in a nearby stream.

Hamlet and his friend Horatio happen upon Ophelia’s funeral, and upon learning of her death, Hamlet provokes Laertes.

Through the intermediaries Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and according to the plan concocted with Claudius, Laertes challenges Hamlet to a duel. Hamlet accepts the challenge.

Many deaths ensue.

第二幕
波洛涅斯之子雷爾德為了報殺父之仇重回赫爾辛格，威脅到克勞狄斯和他的王位。克勞狄斯藉著說服雷爾德相信哈姆雷特才是元兇，成功解除了雷爾德的威脅：克勞狄斯與雷爾德聯手密謀殺害哈姆雷特。

奧菲莉亞現身，因為遭哈姆雷特拒絕以及父親去世而變得瘋瘋癲癲。不久之後奧菲莉亞在附近的一條小溪中溺斃，她的死使雷爾德復仇的決心有增無減。

哈姆雷特與其好友赫瑞修偶然發現奧菲莉亞的葬禮，哈姆雷特得知奧菲莉亞香消玉殞後，挑釁雷爾德。

得到中間人羅森克蘭茨和吉爾登斯特的協助，雷爾德按照與克勞狄斯制定好的計劃，挑戰哈姆雷特與他決鬥。哈姆雷特接受挑戰。

無數死亡將接踵而至。