something's different in the state of Denmark

James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning play comes to the San Francisco Playhouse, continuing their fantastic 2024/25. A wildly imaginative and socially-charged reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Fat Ham transforms the Prince of Demark's dour castle into a place at a BBQ cookout in the South, where Juicy, a queer college student, must decide whether to avenge his father's death or carve a new path for his future.

What is the story?

Issues of identity and family obligation come to a head during a backyard cookout when Juicy's dad joins the BBQ. Only trouble is, his dad is dead and this is his ghost. It's Hamlet as we know it - but also completely different. Instead of a brooding, tormented, privileged prince, this time our hero is a self-aware, LGBTQ+ Black male. How will he respond when faced with the same choices? Will he be able to break the cycles of violence? And how differently will we experience this iconic narrative, rewritten and reshaped for modern America?