Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, at Studio 320-70 Albert St., through May 3, 2015
Reviewed by Michelle Palansky
When I was in high school, we were set to memorizing and performing one of Shakespeare’s monologues. Smartasses that we were, one of my classmates performed Hamlet‘s “To be or not to be” soliloquy entirely in pig Latin. I loved it and never forgot it. Even in translation, the rhythms remained and continued to please the ear. Weird and wonderful. And it’s only now, decades later, that I realize my classmate was really onto something. The brain delights in things that seem so familiar and yet are presented in an entirely different way, something that Sarah Constible, director of this latest version of Hamlet, really taps into.
A hodgepodge of different languages are used for various effects throughout this lean, two hour version of one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. The travelling players are Italian, Polonius uses a smattering of French, and most intriguingly, the Ghost of King Hamlet, played by Brazilian newcomer Rafael Ferrao, liberally laces his dialogue with Portuguese. Ferrao brings a gracefully spooky presence to the Ghost, and to a non-Portuguese speaking audience, he sounds like he is channeling an otherworldly essence with a distinct sulfuric flavour. Very effective.
Dora Carroll as Ophelia, and Rod Beilfuss as Hamlet
Alternate languages are also employed when a character is in the throes of madness, feigned or otherwise. Both Ophelia, played with oversexed cunning by Dora Carroll, and Hamlet, played with passionate exuberance by Rod Beilfuss, lapse into these linguistic gymnastics. This works not only in the expected way of showing how characters will turn to their mother tongues in moments of great turmoil, but it also focuses the audience’s attention and freshens all too familiar scenes.
I honestly forgot how well I know this play. But as the story unfolded, it started to wash over me like a fable from childhood. But then, all of a sudden, the rhythms were disrupted, and the familiar became strange as the characters spoke their lines using different words, with different inflections. And it forced my brain out of complacency. The unexpected languages created an extra tension that compelled focus.
Admittedly, a little forced focus was required. Studio 320, on the third floor of 70 Albert Street, is a tiny hot box of a theatre, configured to seat just over 50 people for this staging. At almost capacity for the opening night crowd, the heat was intense, arduous, some might call it punishing. I love this little theatre but it does have its drawbacks. Aware of its limitations, I wore a tank top, and I recommend anyone considering catching this five day run do the same.
One other item about the space. At two points during the play, audience members should be prepared to move into the secondary studio. The first switch happens before intermission to watch the play within the play. This transition works reasonably smoothly and the Italian actors, played by Colin Connor, Emily King, and Tristan Carlucci are adorably antic. The second transition brings the audience back to the smaller studio to witness the final sword fight. There was not enough seating for the entire crowd, and admittedly this is going to sound a little rich coming from a director who once forced an entire audience to watch a thirty minute Fringe show standing in a piss-scented garage but…it’s just not good enough. Especially when some of the members of the audience were standing three deep in such a small space.
OK, shake it off, let’s get to the good stuff. Michelle Boulet as Polonius is awesome. No other word for it. The dialogue is so familiar but she brought so much good humored juice and deeply felt pathos to the part. Boulet milked her role in the very best possible way.
I also have to admit to being quite a bit in love with Chris Sabel as Horatio. It’s such a wee part but he brings a shy, sensitive sense of honour to the role that is really endearing.
And then there’s Rod Beilfuss’s Hamlet. He does a truly extraordinary job of carrying this giant play under a microscopic lens. There is absolutely nowhere to hide in such a small space and he performs admirably. But this is not my Hamlet. My Hamlet is brooding, and dark, and introspective. Beilfuss’s Hamlet is passionate, and blustering, and wild. Indeed, by the end of the first act I was wondering if I ever liked Hamlet. I think that I have always loved this play and I have always thought that Hamlet was a giant douche bag. In my mind, I kept shouting at him to sack up. And then I started to think that maybe I was too old for Hamlet and that maybe I was always too old for Hamlet. In the first row of the audience, a half dozen teenagers were watching the show. And they clearly adored it. They were laughing like crazy during the gravedigger scene, and rapt with attention during the burial of Ophelia. So never mind me, I’m an oldie.
I consider this Bravura Theatre and Snakeskin Jacket’s co-production, a rare and wonderful opportunity to see Hamlet live, very up-close, and intimately personal. But if you can’t take the the heat, don’t go into the theatre.
Hamlet, presented by Bravura Theatre and Snakeskin Jacket, runs April 29–May 3, 2015. Showtimes are: April 29 at 7:30 p.m.; April 30 at 7:30 p.m.; May 1 at 7:30 p.m.; May 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; May 3 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets available here, and the show is at Studio 320-70 Albert Street, Winnipeg MB.
OTE EBE ORA OTNA OTE EBE: Bravura Theatre and Snakeskin Jacket’s Hamlet
Columns
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, at Studio 320-70 Albert St., through May 3, 2015
Reviewed by Michelle Palansky
When I was in high school, we were set to memorizing and performing one of Shakespeare’s monologues. Smartasses that we were, one of my classmates performed Hamlet‘s “To be or not to be” soliloquy entirely in pig Latin. I loved it and never forgot it. Even in translation, the rhythms remained and continued to please the ear. Weird and wonderful. And it’s only now, decades later, that I realize my classmate was really onto something. The brain delights in things that seem so familiar and yet are presented in an entirely different way, something that Sarah Constible, director of this latest version of Hamlet, really taps into.
A hodgepodge of different languages are used for various effects throughout this lean, two hour version of one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. The travelling players are Italian, Polonius uses a smattering of French, and most intriguingly, the Ghost of King Hamlet, played by Brazilian newcomer Rafael Ferrao, liberally laces his dialogue with Portuguese. Ferrao brings a gracefully spooky presence to the Ghost, and to a non-Portuguese speaking audience, he sounds like he is channeling an otherworldly essence with a distinct sulfuric flavour. Very effective.
Dora Carroll as Ophelia, and Rod Beilfuss as Hamlet
Alternate languages are also employed when a character is in the throes of madness, feigned or otherwise. Both Ophelia, played with oversexed cunning by Dora Carroll, and Hamlet, played with passionate exuberance by Rod Beilfuss, lapse into these linguistic gymnastics. This works not only in the expected way of showing how characters will turn to their mother tongues in moments of great turmoil, but it also focuses the audience’s attention and freshens all too familiar scenes.
I honestly forgot how well I know this play. But as the story unfolded, it started to wash over me like a fable from childhood. But then, all of a sudden, the rhythms were disrupted, and the familiar became strange as the characters spoke their lines using different words, with different inflections. And it forced my brain out of complacency. The unexpected languages created an extra tension that compelled focus.
Admittedly, a little forced focus was required. Studio 320, on the third floor of 70 Albert Street, is a tiny hot box of a theatre, configured to seat just over 50 people for this staging. At almost capacity for the opening night crowd, the heat was intense, arduous, some might call it punishing. I love this little theatre but it does have its drawbacks. Aware of its limitations, I wore a tank top, and I recommend anyone considering catching this five day run do the same.
One other item about the space. At two points during the play, audience members should be prepared to move into the secondary studio. The first switch happens before intermission to watch the play within the play. This transition works reasonably smoothly and the Italian actors, played by Colin Connor, Emily King, and Tristan Carlucci are adorably antic. The second transition brings the audience back to the smaller studio to witness the final sword fight. There was not enough seating for the entire crowd, and admittedly this is going to sound a little rich coming from a director who once forced an entire audience to watch a thirty minute Fringe show standing in a piss-scented garage but…it’s just not good enough. Especially when some of the members of the audience were standing three deep in such a small space.
OK, shake it off, let’s get to the good stuff. Michelle Boulet as Polonius is awesome. No other word for it. The dialogue is so familiar but she brought so much good humored juice and deeply felt pathos to the part. Boulet milked her role in the very best possible way.
I also have to admit to being quite a bit in love with Chris Sabel as Horatio. It’s such a wee part but he brings a shy, sensitive sense of honour to the role that is really endearing.
And then there’s Rod Beilfuss’s Hamlet. He does a truly extraordinary job of carrying this giant play under a microscopic lens. There is absolutely nowhere to hide in such a small space and he performs admirably. But this is not my Hamlet. My Hamlet is brooding, and dark, and introspective. Beilfuss’s Hamlet is passionate, and blustering, and wild. Indeed, by the end of the first act I was wondering if I ever liked Hamlet. I think that I have always loved this play and I have always thought that Hamlet was a giant douche bag. In my mind, I kept shouting at him to sack up. And then I started to think that maybe I was too old for Hamlet and that maybe I was always too old for Hamlet. In the first row of the audience, a half dozen teenagers were watching the show. And they clearly adored it. They were laughing like crazy during the gravedigger scene, and rapt with attention during the burial of Ophelia. So never mind me, I’m an oldie.
I consider this Bravura Theatre and Snakeskin Jacket’s co-production, a rare and wonderful opportunity to see Hamlet live, very up-close, and intimately personal. But if you can’t take the the heat, don’t go into the theatre.
Hamlet, presented by Bravura Theatre and Snakeskin Jacket, runs April 29–May 3, 2015. Showtimes are: April 29 at 7:30 p.m.; April 30 at 7:30 p.m.; May 1 at 7:30 p.m.; May 2 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; May 3 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets available here, and the show is at Studio 320-70 Albert Street, Winnipeg MB.