What makes a claustrophobic person crawl into a dark cave under a city park in Stockholm and stay there, isolated from everyday life, the sun and fresh air, for a weekend? In my case, the chance of taking part in the mounting of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This improvised version of the play united role players and other enthusiasts in various ages and from all parts of Sweden, as well as a few from Norway and Finland, in blood, sweat and tears - and laughter. Although it was set in an alternative 1938, (with a fascist Claudius, a decadent royal court and a socialist Hamlet,) the spirit of deceit was very true to the original play.