<p>This article examines Jacques Derrida’s concepts of the archive, advancing it simultaneously as a suppressive and generative force. Derrida argues that archives, rather than serving as fixed sources, perpetuate an endless process of rereading. Consequently, our understanding of historical archives is transformed through this critical lens, and their presumed stability is put into question. Drawing further on Derrida’s theories of language, the archive’s role as mediator is explored. For Derrida, language invariably stands between intention and intended meaning, functioning as an intermediary. Such mediation introduces distance and defers meaning, ensuring that signifier and signified never fully coincide. Likewise, the archive functions as a mediator that inserts itself between present and past. The primary aim of this study is to demonstrate the archive’s mediating function as language, using a descriptive–analytical method. Through a case study of The Wooster Group’s <i>Hamlet</i>—which adopts a critical posture toward the archive—this article analyzes the practical application of Derrida’s archival theory in performance. It also investigates the mediatory, suppressive, and dynamic nature of the archive within a theatrical context.</p>