Scott Stern is a guest contributor to The Hill is Home. He has lived on the Hill since 2007 and can often be found waiting impatiently for new things to open on H St NE.
Uploaded to flickr by Edgley Cesar.
Folger Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Hamlet, directed by Joseph Haj, brings the play from the days of moats and drawbridges to the time of sharp angles and minimalist design with a sleek set and modern sensibilities. Now I’m no theater critic; I couldn’t tell you the difference between a vomitory and a scrim (look it up). I do, however, have the most important journalistic credentials needed for this post; namely I have seen the play and have an opinion, a laptop (ok, an iPad), and a blog. But on with our story.
Having forgotten most of freshman English, I set off for the play knowing only, as many people do with Shakespeare, the words (“to be or not to be…”) and the end (everybody dies). I was basically a blank slate, with no appreciation for the universality of the story itself. A quick refresher: the story follows Prince Hamlet of Denmark as he seeks revenge for the murder of his father, King Hamlet, by his uncle Claudius (David Whalen) who both takes the throne and Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Deborah Hazlett). The tragedy of the play is brought out as Hamlet, in seeking revenge on Claudius, dies along with Claudius and the other main characters; basically trapped by his own web.
The modern production and strong performances, particularly by Graham Michael Hamilton whose intense Hamlet reminds me of Jonathan Rhys Meyers’ Henry VIII in The Tudors, bring the 400 year-old play into the 21st Century with clarity and passion. Even the occasional theatergoer like myself is able to quickly understand and relate – one audience member was overheard comparing the family drama on the stage to family drama in Bethesda. I plead the fifth on that one, but do think Hamlet could have benefited from a good psychologist (“So you say your mother is sleeping with your uncle who killed your father and that your father’s ghost is telling you to kill your uncle? I see. And how does that make you feel?”)
The modern flavor was enough that the audience’s reaction to Folger’s fire alarm going off in the middle of the play (caused by someone backstage having way too much fun with a fog machine) seemed totally normal…at least until we realized the cast was as surprised as we were. The cast recovered nicely, with a theatrical bow from Claudius’ top aide Polonius (Stephen Patrick Martin) before re-dying and a somewhat sheepish smirk from Hamlet.
The rest of the play firmly established the universality of the experiences of the characters. Even though most of us will never have to deal with quite as…unpleasant…a situation as Hamlet, we all experience grief at the death of a loved one, disappointment with our parents and friends, and the pain of unrequited love. The chic minimalism of this production of Hamlet brings these universal human experiences to the fore and avoids the overly formal and sometimes even “crusty” portrayals of Shakespeare’s plays that make people like me wary of seeing them. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance and think you probably will too.
Hamlet is playing at Folger Theater (201 East Capitol Street, SE) through June 6th.