Relocating Hamlet from the late medieval Danish court to a backyard barbecue in the contemporary American South, playwright James Ijames has turned Shakespeare’s tragedy into a comedy where no one dies at the hand of another.

Of course, the king, named Pap here and not royal but instead a prison inmate, has been murdered by his brother Rev -- Claudius in the original -- before the action of the play starts. The barbecue is a celebration of Rev’s marriage to Pap’s widow, Tedra, aka Gertrude.

One of the major themes in Fat Ham , which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2022, is the idea of “softness” as an alternative to all the killing. It’s embodied by Juicy, Ijames’ version of Prince Hamlet, Pap and Tedra’s gay, overweight son, who is now also his uncle’s stepson. Besides all the f

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