Pretentious, Moi? 1997 was our "highbrow" year. After Peter Barnes and Howard Brenton who else but Tom Stoppard, who turns Hamlet upside-down with bit players from that play becoming major players in this (and vice versa). So while R&G wax lyrical about the nature of probability and generally come over all existential, Hamlet remains a barely seen presence in the background.

Director's Commentary  This has always been one of my favourite plays. We’d done some very adventurous pieces in the past so I thought it might be time to try it. When I told people we’d picked this play, there would be a long pause and they would say things like “It’s a very difficult play to do, you know” as if, as amateurs, we had no right to be doing it. It was exciting, but nerve-wracking as well as it was full of enormously fast and snappy dialogues which fly back and forth between the two main characters. They were difficult to learn and timing was everything, but I think we did it fantastically well Ray

Quote, Unquote  Not everyone's cup of tea (ha ha) but I had a great time thanks to Ray, who convinced me I could do this when I had no confidence in myself. And did you know that most of David's costume, and a lot of the others, were curtains? Sharon
Thought this was a bit ambitious at the time, but well-acted and directed Jenny
It may have been nerve-wracking and exciting for Ray and Jonathan who were on stage for the entire two and a half hours and never shut up! The rest of us just wandered on, quoted our few lines of Shakespeare and wandered off again which was neither nerve-wracking nor exciting. I felt uninvolved and wasn't onstage long enough to connect with the audience. But the feedback from the audience was positive, which is the main thing. And at least Phil was able to impress his friends by saying he was “giving his Hamlet” David
Hated it really Phil
I was on holiday for two weeks in the Lake District prior to the rehearsals. Ray had persuaded me that it was a good idea to do this play and I went along. Then I got the script which was a huge undertaking and I remember spending the early mornings of the holiday, walking the dogs around Crummock Water and talking aloud to myself trying to get the lines in my head. Whether it was the beautiful environment or something in the water, somehow the lines stuck and Janette, abandoned in the cottage, enjoyed some length lay ins. Although it was pretty dreary for most of the cast due to the predominance of two or three parts, it was hugely satisfying for me to perform. Ray and Sharon were fantastic which gave me a lot of confidence. I also got to wear some tights and half a pair of curtains. Enjoyed being in the box! Jonathan
A joy to do and listen to (even if I didn’t understand all of it) Helen
Witty and wordy. Some said it was too ambitious but the Chameleons pulled it off in style Betty

The Critics Rave  "Well worth a watch", said the Hull Daily Mail in a rare review, “Ray Rumkee and Jonathan Preston achieved fine performances as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern while The Player and Tragedians bring out the light side of the play”. They concluded with; “Tom Stoppard has a reputation for being challenging but the Chameleon Players not only make the banter between the two main characters easy to follow and entertaining but also bring out the quick-fire wit which had gone right over my head in previous performances I had witnessed”. Can you explain it to the rest of us, then?