New audiobook recasts Hamlet as a thriller

"When we do this stuff, we take no prisoners. We change whatever we like. We are only interested in making it a good, entertaining, thrilling story that comes out of Hamlet," says Hewson.

The co-authors are hoping to at least replicate their success with Macbeth: A Novel, featuring Alan Cumming as the narrator that was so popular it was later published as a book and an e-book.

These two examples of original content makes sense to Audible founder and chief executive Donald Katz, a journalist-turned-entrepreneur who is excited to offer reinterpreted versions of literature's best.

"The reality is that life is changing around the classics in so many ways, " he says.

"It's trying not to worry about the doctrine of tradition and think about what the essence was supposed to be. I bet you Shakespeare would approve of all of this."

The market for audiobooks is vast, as commuters and runners increasingly embrace the media. Audible, a subsidiary of Amazon whose audiobooks can also be found on iTunes, won't release specific sales figures for projects, but says members last year downloaded 725 million listening hours.