Artistic director at Clwyd Theatr Cymru Terry Hands will take charge of his last ever production at the Mold venue when he directs Shakespeare’s most famous play Hamlet from February 5-March 7.

Hamlet’s father has died and Claudius is the new king. When his father appears as a ghost, Hamlet is told to avenge his ‘foul and unnatural murder’.

Tormented by his predicament and torn by revenge, Hamlet is propelled into madness and murder.

Shakespeare’s gripping tragedy was written in the early 17th century and has enthralled audiences around the world ever since.

Hamlet is a psychological thriller, murder mystery and philosophical drama.

Lee Haven-Jones takes the part of Hamlet in this new production. A Clwyd Theatr Cymru associate, he appeared in Terry Hands’ productions of Night Must Fall by Emlyn Williams, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, Memory by Jonathan Lichtenstein, in Mold, Cardiff and New York, and Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller. He also played Christian in Festen, directed by Tim Baker.

His television credits include S4C’s Caerdydd, which he has also directed. Other directing credits include BBC 1’s Casualty and The Indian Doctor, for which he won the BAFTA Cymru Best Director award in 2013, and Alys and Pobol y Cwm on S4C.

Gertrude is played by Carol Royle. Her work in Mold includes Private Lives by Noel Coward, Arcadia by Tom Stoppard and Madame Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard – all productions directed by Terry Hands.

A well-known film and TV actress, her distinguished career includes seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and numerous West End roles.

Clwyd Theatr Cymru associate Caryl Morgan plays Ophelia. Her recent work with the company includes the Dylan Thomas centenary production of Under Milk Wood, Gretchen in the comedy Boeing Boeing, directed by Terry Hands and Nora in A Doll’s House, directed by Emma Lucia.

Caryl spent three years playing series regular Izzy Evans in the popular soap Pobol y Cwm.

Simon Dutton plays Claudius. An associate of Clwyd Theatr Cymru, he was seen earlier this season as Pastor Manders in Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen. Other recent appearances in Mold include Sir Robert Morton in The Winslow Boy and Torvald in A Doll’s House. Other recent theatre includes the role of Ian Fleming in Hugh Whitemore’s drama A Marvellous Year For Plums, a new play about the 1956 Suez crisis for Chichester Festival Theatre.

On TV he was Simon Templar in The Saint (ITV) and, more recently Alastair in Doctor Who and Guy in the comedy series Not Going Out (BBC).

Roger Delves-Broughton is playing Polonius. After making his first appearance at Clwyd in 1977, he appeared in many of the theatre’s productions until the mid 1990s. His work includes seasons with the Royal Exchange Manchester, Bristol Old Vic and numerous shows with the Mercury Theatre, Colchester and Theatre By The Lake in Keswick.

The company also includes Richard Elfyn as Horatio. An associate, he was memorable as the Reverend Cefni Pugh in the premiere of Somewhere In England earlier this season. A familiar face in Welsh TV and film, Richard was a member of the Under Milk Wood company and also starred as Frank in the Clwyd production of Willy Russell’s Educating Rita.

Daniel Llewelyn-Williams is Laertes. His recent work in Mold includes Siegfried Sassoon in the acclaimed production of Not About Heroes, directed by Tim Baker and Major Sergius Saranoff in Arms and the Man, directed by Emma Lucia.

Daniel’s own one-man show A Regular Little Houdini is touring in Wales and England until the end of 2015.

Sion Pritchard plays Rosencrantz. At Clwyd Theatr Cymru he was memorable as Heisenberg in Copenhagen by Michael Frayn and Williamson in Glengarry Glen Ross. His award-nominated one man show Last Christmas, a co-production between Clwyd Theatr Cymru and the Cardiff-based Dirty Protest Theatre, played in Wales, at the Edinburgh Festival and Soho Theatre, London last year.

This new production of Hamlet, directed by Terry Hands, will be his last as director of Clwyd Theatr Cymru, which he has led since 1997.

His recent acclaimed productions include record-breaking Dylan Thomas centenary production of Under Milk Wood, The Winslow Boy by Terence Rattigan and As You Like It by William Shakespeare.

Terry Hands is one of Britain’s most respected theatre directors with an international reputation.

He is currently director and chief executive of Clwyd Theatr Cymru, which he rescued from closure in 1997 and has since built into the most productive theatre in Wales.

Terry Hands was awarded a CBE for services to theatre in the 2007.

His production of Under Milk Wood, staged to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas’ birth in 1914, was seen by more than 61,000 people during its 22 week run last year. Seven Welsh venues attracted over 26,000 people to the show, a record for a Clwyd touring production.

Call 0845 330 3565 or visit www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk for booking details.