Bear Creek School students will perform William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” on Jan. 17 and 19.

“Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, to not o’erstep the modesty of nature.” These words, spoken in Act Three as Hamlet seeks to discover the truth of his father’s death through a play-within-a-play, remind the performers to act naturally — not to overdramatize, which testifies to Hamlet’s literary and dramatic stature and to the difficulty of grasping the complex and esoteric themes in Shakespeare’s magnum opus, writes Bear Creek’s Alicia Williams in a press release.

Continuing in Act Three, Hamlet encourages the players to hold “a mirror up to nature.” In this, Shakespeare issues the most demanding of stage directions — to represent humanity as it is — glorious and fallen, caught between heaven and earth, fixed in the vexing nature of the human dilemma, Williams writes.

She adds: There have been many interpretations of this drama and there are just as many ways to paint Hamlet’s character. Some see him as maddened by grief, others paralyzed by fear, still others as a scheming manipulator. Perhaps the truest challenge of the character and of the play itself is to portray Hamlet simply as a man — no more, no less. Many of the roles in Bear Creek’s production of “Hamlet” are double-cast to allow more students to experience and stretch their dramatic muscle. The dark set provides opportunity to invent several unique visual effects and props cleverly engineered to maximize the space while providing hands-on experience for the many students who work behind the scenes.

Performances will be at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 17 and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 19.

All performances are open to the public. Tickets ($5 individual or $10 for the whole family) may be purchased at the door. The Bear Creek School Cornerstone Theater is at 8905 208th Ave. N.E. in Redmond. For more information, call (425) 898-1720 or visit www.tbcs.org.