Shakespeare's classic tragedy is re-imagined by mixing and repurposing Richard Burton's 1964 Broadway production, directed by John Gielgud. The Burton production was recorded in live performance from 17 camera angles and edited into a film that was shown as a special event for only two days in nearly 1,000 movie houses across the U.S. The idea of bringing a live theater experience to thousands of simultaneous viewers in different cities was trumpeted as a new form called "Theatrofilm," made possible through "the miracle of Electronovision." The Wooster Group's production attempts to reverse the process, reconstructing a hypothetical theater piece from the fragmentary evidence of the edited film. HAMLET channels the ghost of the legendary 1964 performance, descending into a kind of madness, intentionally replacing their own spirit with the spirit of another.

After being wrongfully convicted of kidnapping and murdering a young child, a beautiful young woman (Lee Young-ae) is imprisoned for 13 years and forced to give up her own daughter. While in prison she gains the respect and loyalty of her fellow cellmates, all the while plotting her vendetta on the man responsible (Oldboy's Choi Min-Shik). Upon her release she sets in motion an elaborate plan of retribution, but what she discovers is a truth so horrifying, even revenge doesn't seem punishment enough.