Hamlet reimagined but the prince is accompanied everywhere by his mischievous Capuchin monkey, Mr Throttlebottom-Smith. With this addition, provide a treatment of the churchyard scene (the skull of Yorick scene.)
HAMLET REIMAGINED: THE CHURCHYARD SCENE WITH MR. THROTTLEBOTTOM-SMITH
Setting:
A dim, overcast afternoon in the graveyard. The earth is damp and freshly turned. The gravedigger hums a tuneless song, lazily tossing clumps of soil aside with irreverent cheer. The somber, existential weight of the scene is punctuated by the restless antics of Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith, Hamlet’s mischievous Capuchin monkey, who perches on Hamlet’s shoulder, occasionally darting off to investigate bones with unsettling enthusiasm.
Scene Begins:
HAMLET and HORATIO enter, observing the gravedigger’s casual flinging of bones. Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith scurries down Hamlet’s cloak and immediately snatches a small, dirty femur, inspecting it with scientific curiosity before attempting to gnaw on it.
HAMLET:
(grimacing, snatching the bone from the monkey)
Alas, poor tibia. To what end dost thou now serve? A chew toy for an impudent ape? (sighs deeply, pocketing the bone out of some absurd sense of decorum)
Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith glares indignantly, then climbs back onto Hamlet’s shoulder, tugging at his collar in protest.
HAMLET: (to Horatio, absentmindedly petting the monkey’s head)
Does not this spectacle offend thee? The gravedigger jests with the remnants of men as if they were mere stones, and this creature— (gestures to the monkey) —seeks amusement in what was once noble frame and sinew.
HORATIO:
Custom hath dulled the gravedigger’s awe. And as for Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith, perhaps he mirrors mankind more than we care to admit.
The gravedigger uncovers a skull, tossing it nonchalantly. Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith shrieks with delight, leaping down and grabbing it before Hamlet can react.
HAMLET: (reaching for the skull)
Hold, sirrah! What treasure hast thou found? Yield it to me.
The monkey clings to the skull stubbornly, chattering defiantly. Hamlet engages in a brief, undignified tug-of-war with the small primate before triumphantly prying it free.
HAMLET: (examining the skull, suddenly solemn)
Alas, poor Yorick! (pauses, staring into the hollow sockets) I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times… (Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith tugs at Hamlet’s sleeve, as if to reclaim the skull)
… and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it.
The monkey ceases its tugging, suddenly still, perhaps sensing the gravity of Hamlet’s reflection—or simply plotting. It softly touches the skull, its small hand tracing the contour of the bone.
HAMLET: (glancing at the monkey, voice softer)
See how even this little rogue, trickster though he be, marks the change from jest to dust. What art thou, Yorick, but a memento for man and beast alike?
Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith gently rests his head against Hamlet’s arm, an unexpected gesture of tenderness. Hamlet chuckles dryly, the absurdity of the moment not lost on him.
HAMLET:
To think, Yorick, that thou—jester to kings—art now subject to the whims of a monkey. Truly, fate plays no favorites.
He sets the skull down with care. Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith pats it once, as if bidding farewell.
End of Scene.
Tone:
The addition of Mr. Throttlebottom-Smith infuses the iconic scene with dark comedy, heightening the contrast between Hamlet’s philosophical musings and the physical absurdity of grappling with a monkey over a skull. The monkey’s behavior oscillates between comic mischief and eerie, almost human sensitivity, reinforcing Hamlet’s meditations on the fragile boundary between life and death, jest and solemnity, man and beast.
