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Rating: 4 out of 5 masks

I have no idea why anyone would see this play.  I mean, it’s not like there’s someone famous in it…

For the few people not familiar with this famous play, Hamlet is about a young prince who discovers that his mother has married his uncle upon his father’s death.  Convinced by his father’s ghost, Hamlet sets a plan to expose his father’s murderer.

My first thought when I saw the play was “Oh my god, did they keep the wall from Mary Stuart (the previous occupant of the Broadhurst Theatre)?”  Of course, once you consider that both productions came courtesy of The Donmar Warehouse, it all makes sense: the lack of scenery, the use of lighting to enhance scenes and the modern dress of the characters.  But once you look past all that, as I tried to, you’ll see something really good.

Since I was acquainted with the modern dress that most of the characters wore in Mary Stuart, I was not as distracted this time around.  Strangely, I think the choice of costumes allowed me to pay more attention to the dialogue of the play.  When you think about it, it could be mildly distracting to look at period-era costumes (or any era for that matter) while concentrating on the play because it almost turns the play into a fashion show.

I liked how they depicted the difference between scenes taking place indoors and outdoors by using a wall-behind-a-wall.  The front wall would occasionally part in the middle to reveal a space that could expand on a scene taking place outdoors or add more to a scene taking place indoors.  There were also a door on either end of the wall to help with scenes that take place in a room.  I wish I could find a picture of it, though.

My favorite scene in the play was when Hamlet staged a play to catch his uncle’s guilt. While most of the stage and the characters’ costumes were in dark hues, the characters for the play-within-a-play (”play”) and their small stage were in white.   While it seems obvious to make the “play” as detached as possible from the play itself, it almost serves as a way of creating a negative of the play that is going on.

I thought that the performances were good, especially Jude Law’s.  I thought his best acting was when Hamlet was acting erractically to throw off suspicion that he was up to something.  I was also drawn in to Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s performance as Ophelia.  I could feel her sadness when Hamlet turns her away and understand her madness when she offers the other characters herbs.

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I would recommend this show to anyone who’s likes Shakespeare.  It’s most appropriate for English and Theatre students as they can discuss the elements of the show afterwards.  Of course, it’s not appropriate for people who can’t sit through a tragedy play, especially one like this, for three hours.

Running time: 3 hours, 10 minutes with one intermission

Image from www.applause-tickets.com

Rating: 3 out of 5 masks

Where to begin…

Mary Stuart tells the story of Mary Queen of Scots who was imprisoned by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, for 17 years, fearing that Mary would attempt to take her crown.  For those not familiar with the backstory, Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, broke away from the Catholic Church in order to marry Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth’s mother.  For most in England at the time, Mary, a Catholic, was considered the rightful heir to the English throne.  Because of this, Elizabeth had her imprisoned for years rather than put to death immediately or worse, sent back to Scotland alive and able to make a play for the throne.

While I understand some of the dramatic license taken in the play, like the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth (they never met face to face), I found the modern costumes and some of the language distracting.  If they had kept with the period language, costume and historical facts, it would be fine just like if they went the modern, not entirely historical route.  To mix it up was distracting in that I had trouble keeping up with the play.

Image from www.applause-tickets.com

The bare set allows you to imagine the Mary’s prison and the royal courtyard.  It’s sort of minimalist in a way.  The lighting helps with figuring out where each scene takes place and used quite well for dramatic purposes.  I liked Mary’s and Elizabeth’s costumes the best, probably because they were the only ones that had any color.  While I understand that the men were wearing suits, I wished there was a way to distinguish them based on class.

 

Overall, I thought this play was ok.  Maybe I got caught up in the accuracy of the material presented, but I did manage to follow the story.  What I liked most about it was that it presented another way of viewing this particular story.  I would recommend this for all audiences, from teens and up.  While I don’t remember any foul language and it does have some historical context, it does have scenes that young children shouldn’t be exposed to.

Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes w/intermission