The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare’s longest play, has sustained its theatrical appeal for centuries- this adaptation by Dmitry Troyanovsky and Stephanie Fleischmann traces the core themes and plot in only an hour. The iteration does not feel stripped down; it feels focused and is a thoughtful exploration of Shakespearean ideas of guilt, grief, and madness.
Prince Hamlet’s ‘To be, or not to be’ monologue is the most widely known soliloquy in theatre. This iteration of Hamlet Redux makes the bold decision not to have Hamlet deliver the speech solo as originally written, but to have the speech delivered by the ensemble cast. With different excerpts spoken by different characters, this choice results in a gripping performance that highlights each line of Shakespeare’s most well-known monologue. With there being so many revered versions of this speech, an audience of Hamlet can sometimes focus on how well we feel a particular actor delivers the speech — subconsciously drawing quick contrast and comparison — rather than being truly immersed in it. This delivery forces emphasis onto the specifics of Shakespeare’s writing, demanding each line of the speech be considered on its own, while also emphasising the spread of madness and grief that no character in the play is immune to the impact of.
The cast is made up of professional actors and emerging professionals who were attendees of the Prague Shakespeare Company’s Summer Intensive, all of whom give riveting and impactful performances. The portrayal of Hamlet in particular is truly gripping. Notably, the performance of Ophelia was sympathetic and touching: the skilful delivery of the character’s famous line “I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died” is genuinely tear-jerking. The performance of Polonius masterfully delivers upon Shakespeare’s intentions, being the primary source of comic relief and providing a much-needed lightness to a famously rather heavy play. The minimalist, stripped back set also allows for the performances of the cast to hold full focus, and the ideas of the play to be a priority.
However, the most notable weakness of this production was that the sound effects were not implemented as smoothly as they should have been, often too early or too soon, which was unfortunate amongst an otherwise strong performance.
Interestingly, the motif of a hat is used, playing on the common colloquial phrase ‘mad as a hatter,’ to show the spread of melancholia between characters. The hat is passed between them as the affliction spreads, as a spiritually and emotionally contagious disease causes chaos in the court of Elsinore.
Hamlet Redux is running until 16 August at Venue 6, C Arts Aurora, 28 Lauriston Street, EH3 9DJ. Buy tickets here.
Image provided by C venues to The Student as press material.
