I admit something to Nevada Shakespeare Festival artistic director Matthew Morgan that makes me feel like a plebeian—I’ve never read Hamlet. 

“Attagirl,” he says. “Don’t read it. Come without it. Just come and be a novice. Let’s see how it hits.” 

The nonprofit is staging the 17th-century tragedy at Henderson’s Cornerstone Park May 8-17. As part of its mission to make Shakespeare “digestible,” NSF has given this production a trailer park twist.

“We’re really building out what feels like a trailer park. We’ll have couches in the VIP section in the first few rows, ... washing machines, picnic tables, lots of lawn chairs,” Morgan, the director, teases. 

It might seem like a surprising setting for what unfolds, he adds. Hamlet (played by Tournament of Kings’ Brandon Alan McClenahan) comes home to mourn his father’s death. But on the heels of the funeral comes a marriage between Hamlet’s mother and his father’s brother, Claudius (played by the John Wick Experience’s Christopher Brown). Amid that upheaval, Hamlet is visited by his father’s ghost, who reveals that Claudius killed him. Much of the plot is driven by Hamlet’s drive for revenge. 

“We’re still trying to tell the story that Shakespeare wrote. And [with our] setting, we feel like people have thoughts on that location,” Morgan says. 

Here are three reasons to don your sleeveless flannel, step over the crushed beer cans and catch this no-frills production. 

THE TRAILER TREASURES

While it might be tempting to focus on the “trailer trash” aspect of trailer parks, NSF says they’re not making fun of people who live there. They’re taking a genuine look at the lifestyle and the relationships in such a setting.

“When people don’t have a lot, the little bit they do have is worth killing over. So in a way, it sort of applies to the story of Hamlet, which is about family dynamics and trying to get a sense of who you are in your family,” Morgan says.

THE POETRY

Despite the more contemporary setting, the Bard’s beautiful language remains intact. 

“We still honor the text and the relationships and the characters in the storyline that Shakespeare wrote ... This play is more than 400 years old. So we’re all laughing and gasping and reacting to the same stories that have been told throughout history. We really try to take care of that,” Morgan says. 

You’ll probably recognize a few famous lines that have permeated the English lexicon. “Good night, sweet prince,” for one. And, of course, “To be, or not to be.”

THE SHARED EXPERIENCE

In everything Nevada Shakespeare Festival does, it aims to underline our shared humanity, enrich our lives, and allow us to connect in more meaningful ways. 

“Going to the theater and seeing somebody else’s experience and witnessing it can give you some perspective, either on your own experience or on your neighbor’s experience, Morgan says. “That’s what the theater should be-—a live experience that gets you thinking about things in a bigger sense of the world.”

HAMLET May 8-10 & 14-17, 7:30 p.m.; May 11, 3 p.m. $5-$30, Cornerstone Park, nevadashakespearefestival.com.