When Churchyards Yawn Toolkit

Digital Engagement Toolkit

When Churchyards Yawn

This toolkit accompanies When Churchyards Yawn, a divine comedy set in purgatory where the dead from Hamlet must confront each other, their sins, and themselves before they can move on.

The play explores forgiveness, accountability, pride, wrath, grief, gender, power, and the unsettling idea that no soul is saved alone.

Use this toolkit before viewing, during a classroom or community discussion, or afterward as part of reflection, writing, or group conversation.

Quick information

Who it is for: Educators, students, audiences, community groups, and facilitators.

What it supports: Viewing, discussion, reflection, and thematic engagement connected to When Churchyards Yawn.

How to use it: Move in order or choose the sections that best fit your group, schedule, and setting.

Start here

Ways to use this toolkit

In a classroom: Use the play to explore adaptation, Shakespeare afterlives, theology, gender expectations, and the ethics of forgiveness.

In a community setting: Discuss grief, family conflict, accountability, and the idea that people are bound together even after death.

For individual use: Reflect on resentment, mercy, pride, and whether healing requires truth, apology, forgiveness, or all three.

What you can do with this toolkit

  • Explore how the play reimagines the characters of Hamlet after death in a shared purgatory.
  • Reflect on the seven deadly sins as emotional and relational obstacles rather than abstract ideas.
  • Consider how forgiveness, blame, and responsibility shift when everyone is interconnected.
  • Discuss how the play challenges hierarchy, gender roles, and inherited ideas about power and virtue.
  • Use the production to think about what it means to move forward without denying harm.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to know Shakespeare’s Hamlet to use this toolkit?

No. Familiarity helps, but the study guide provides the context needed to engage with the production and its characters.

Is this play serious or comic?

Both. It uses humor, argument, and absurdity to explore death, guilt, resentment, and grace.

What makes this production especially useful for discussion?

Its focus on forgiveness, interconnectedness, gender, power, and the afterlife makes it especially strong for conversations about harm, healing, and what people owe one another.

Need help?

If you encounter a barrier, please
contact Arizona Theatre Matters.