20 posts tagged “hamlet”

Despite my initial reservations about Jude Law playing Hamlet, I was actually quite excited by the time Tuesday arrived. So I settled in my front row seat (benefits of booking 18 months in advance) with Jen to one side and Spike's empty seat to the other* and it was show time.
And Law didn't disappoint. He played his Hamlet with an anger that had veins pulsating in his neck, sweat pouring down his brow and spit flying from his mouth (the one disadvantage of being on the front row when he is delivering a soliloquy at the front of the stage).

His manic hand gesturing was a little too much at times but you can't fault him on clarity of delivery which is an achievement when some speeches can easily become incomprehensible rants. It was a moving performance especially when on a couple of occasions our eye-line matched and it was as if he talking just to me (I'm sure the actors see very little of the audience once the stage is lit up but it still feels good.)
And the rest of the production? Well Penelope Wilton nailed Getrude, Ron Cook as Polonius didn't milk the comedy in his part enough (although that may be partly down to cuts in his speeches) something the RSC did very well and Ophelia, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw was the weakest link. Just didn't connect with the character at all. She was too sensible and straight in the first half to make her descent into madness in the second half believable. She has a beautiful sweet singing voice but I don't think that really suited someone who's properly lost their marbles.
There weren't as many theatricals in the production as the RSC's (cracking mirrors, playing king being hoisted up ghost like into the ceiling etc), the set of towering stone castle walls with huge sliding doors gave the stage a suitably cold and bleak feel and there was a shower of snow in one scene so convincing it made me shiver.
Michael Grandage, who directed, has trimmed the script back to make it shorter which I don't object to as I think Hamlet can be a little long.
But what is my verdict, Tennant/RSC or Law/Donmar? Sorry Law you were much, much better than I expected and very enjoyable to watch but I didn't come out of the theatre thinking I'd just seen something historic like Tennants.

And what did the pro's think?

Daily Telegraph: "Law...joins the modern pantheon of spellbinding sweet princes with a performance of rare vulnerability and emotional openness."
Guardian: "Law doesn't have the sardonic wit of David Tennant, or the philosophical fluency of Jamie Ballard in Jonathan Miller's recent Tobacco Factory production, but he makes a Hamlet who truly discovers himself."
West End Whingers: "The Whingers also found themselves getting very sad about their inability carry off a cardigan which Jude Law can do depressingly well." 

*Spike got stuck up in York where he'd been for work and because he had his ticket with him the box office couldn't resell it, which was frustrating not because of the money lost but because there was a long queue of people desperate for returns and it was such a good seat to waste. Fortunately a chap who'd been sitting somewhere up in the gods spotted the empty seat during the first half and snuck down during the interval and asked if he could take it. Jen and I were glad to oblige.:"

Peter Jackson is denying rumours that he will be announcing who will play Bilbo in The Hobbit at Comic-Con but what is interesting is who is in supposedly in the running: Daniel Radcliffe, David Tennant and James McAvoy.
If it was up to me to choose from this trio this is how I'd rate them:

4/10 David Tennant
(BBC's Dr Who and my favourite Hamlet so far) Too tall and willowy for a Hobbit and I'm not sure he'd pull off the down to earthy, nature loving character that is inherent in a Hobbit.

7/10 Daniel Radcliffe
(Harry Potter and stage stripper) Well he is the right height (sorry that is a bit mean especially coming from someone who is also economically sized) but I think still a bit young. Mind you he's got dragon experience.

9/10 James McAvoy
(Atonement, Wanted etc) Nigh on perfect I'd say. He's not too tall and has the right build for a Hobbit. Think he's a good age to play Bilbo and I know I've said him before but I loved him as Mr Tumnus so he has fantasy genre experience.

Others I think should be considered are: Jim Sturgess although he is quite tall but has a face that I think would work as a Hobbit, Emile Hirsch is small of stature although I think he looks a little more elf-like. And finally Gael Garcia Bernal would be my wild card - think he would make a great Bilbo with a hint of latin energy. He's also short.

And funnily Entertainmentment Weekly has picked up on exactly the same issues. In their pole James McAvoy is coming out way ahead of the other two.

 

If you could travel to any place and time for one week, where would you go?

I'm sure I've answered this question before but as I was thinking about this recently I'm going to answer it again.

The performance I missed

I wouldn't need a whole week but I would love to go back to London, April 2004 and see Ben Whishaw play Hamlet at the Old Vic.

I hadn't rediscovered the joy of theatre then and I've read so much about his performance that I would dearly love to go back in time and see it.

What fascinates me about it most is that he was a young actor playing Hamlet, which is so rare on the professional stage. Hamlet is supposed to be a 23-year old student but most often played by actors who are 30+ or sometimes pushing 40. Whishaw was 23 and fresh out of drama school.

Now there is nothing fundamentally wrong with older actors playing Hamlet but I think Whishaw's youth would have brought an interesting new angle to the performance. One review said:

Not only is this a masterful production but also we witness what will surely prove to be one of the most talked about performance’s of Hamlet for many a decade. 

As I've said, what I wouldn't give to have seen it and if I had a week I'd probably see it more than once.

Next week I'm getting my annual Hamlet fix at the Wyndham's Theatre. This time Jude Law is stepping into the Dane's shoes. I've already written quite a bit about my expectations so won't repeat but add that I've heard good things from colleagues who've been to see it,  so maybe I'm being a bit mean. We'll see.

After a self-imposed virtual drought during May, June's theatre visits kicked off in fine form with a bit of Shakespeare at the National Theatre accompanied by adam, who likes a bit of the Bard.

Now I wasn't familiar with All's Well That Ends Well but have since done a bit of research and it is what is sometimes described as Shakespeare noir. It doesn't really fit into the standard comedy envelope that would easily accomodate say Twelfth Night or a Midsummers Night Dream; if you take the story literally it's about a female stalker.
As a result it is quite a strange story  but if you don't worry about that too much and view it more as a fairy tale then it's an entertaining romp with Shakespeare flexing his word play muscles.
The first half is the set up: girl falls for boy who's socially above her, she helps out the King who in return promises to let her marry whomever she chooses. Guess who she chooses? Boy, Bertram is his name, rejects her saying he'll only be her husband if she gets a ring on him he can't remove and has his baby.
He then buggers off to war in Italy. End of part one.
The second half is basically how she does the seemingly impossible. There is a Falstaff-type character thrown in for extra comedy value and hey presto there you have it.

And while the story didn't exactly float my boat, the production and acting more than made up for it. The set designers definitely went for fairy tale with castle turrets almost appearing like gnarly old trees and projections of spiders and bats on the back drop. Clever lighting picked out sparkles and sequins against quite a dark backdrop.
Notable performances came from the wonderful Oliver Ford Davies as the King (last seen doing a brilliantly comic Polonius in the RSC's Hamlet) and Conleth Hill as Parolles.
It's not going to be my favourite play of the year but it certainly dazzled and for £10 a ticket in the Travelex season you can't complain that it wasn't worth the money.
Here's what a few reviewers thought:
Independent
Time Out
Guardian

The Donmar Warehouse's Wyndham's season wraps up with Hamlet starring Jude Law which opened a couple of days ago.
I am desperately avoiding any reviews until I see it in July as I want to form my own opinion. At the moment Mr Law and the Donmar team has a lot of work to do to impress coming barely 6 months after the RSC's Stewart/Tennant production finished its London run.
So what's it up against?

Jude Law vs David Tennant
Jude Law is still a bit of a posh soap actor in my eyes, while his body of work looks quite varied he's just not one of those actors who stands out for me. He's also too old to play Hamlet. Arguably David Tennant was too but he compensated by bringing a youthful energy to the role. David Tennant, aside from his age, was a fantastic Hamlet as I wrote on this very blog after seeing it last year and I feel sorry for Law having to follow it because comparisons are inevitable.

Patrick Stewart vs Penelope Wilton
Well it's the entire company really but those are probably the two most familiar names. The RSC company was entirely marvellous, stand out performances from Mariah Gale as Ophelia (redeeming herself after Miranda in The Tempest from the year before) Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius too was exceptional bringing to the fore the comedy of the character and Stewart quiet and calculating...I could go on. Wilton I just can't visualise as a Queen at the moment but Ron Cook is potentially a superb Polonius as I think he has the skill to work the comedy in his speeches. The rest of the cast I'm not familiar enough with to judge.

Shiny mirrors vs A traditional set?
The RSC production was simple but nonetheless impressive using mirrors as a back drop and the stage itself. Torches were used to clever effect and stage furniture was sparse which gave the production a modern feel - aimed I'm sure at the younger audience attracted by the presence of Dr Who. The Donmar's season at the Wyndham's so far has been impressive (although I missed Madame De Sade because I was poorly). I predict the Donmar will go for something a little less minimalist and maybe a bit more traditional, which worked very well for both Twelfth Night and Ivanov.

Back in August Jenny and I were not only lucky enough to get to see David Tennant  play Hamlet at Stratford but somehow managed to get front row seats. It was an amazing experience and one we'll never forget and still high on the spectacle the next day we returned to the theatre to buy souvenir posters.
But that wasn't quite enough. I'm afraid we were overcome by a teenage-esque surge of obsession.
I did a bit of research on the internet, found the details of Tennant's agent and following the instructions to include an SAE or cardboard tube in this case, sent both posters off with a short note in the hope that they would get signed but requesting they were returned regardless. The agents website makes no guarantees except that it may take many months.
Well the posters went off in September and I'd all but forgotten about it until, hey presto, two days ago a cardboard tube arrives back.
With bated breath I unfurled the posters inside to see if Tennant had indeed put black marker to paper and he had - not the most crafted signature but each was personalised nonetheless. I can just imagine him locked in a room with a stack of pictures and posters to sign, slowly getting cramp in his hand. It's a tough life being famous but hey ho, he did it and so that is why David Tennant is currently my favourite actor.
Now I just need to get it framed and put up in a place where it won't fade but just slowly increase in (sentimental) value.

Love this which was posted by the Guardian theatre blog today in honour of Shakespeare's birthday today. There are a load of other Shakespeare related clips too if you are interested.

I've already tweeted about the fact that there are plans to reprise the RSC's Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart one more time but this time it will be filmed.
From this story it looks like they aren't going to film it straight as it was performed which is a shame but anything is better than nothing. They will never be able to recreate the atmosphere of seeing it performed live but at least it will be a great reminder and Jen and I can say 'we were there on the front row'.
Wonder if you can pre-order on play.com yet?

I went to see 51 films and 19 plays, a couple of stand ups and a handful of bands. Although I reckon the film figure might be a little higher as I didn't have anything down for May and I don't believe I went a whole month without seeing anything.

So what were the highlights?

Well film-wise, three jump out (links are to my original reviews):

The Orphanage because it was a brilliantly done scary film with a really tragic twist at the end
Dark Knight because it was thoroughly entertaining and Heath Ledger brought a new dimension to The Joker (and I still don't think he deserves an Oscar)
And In Bruges because it was witty, funny and entertaining and I can't wait to see it again when it hits Sky.

I must just also mention The Duchess because it made me cry the most of any film I've seen all year and that wasn't because it had Keira Knightly in it!

As for the theatre, well there are so many fantastic plays to choose from. All three Shakespeare's I saw: Othello, Hamlet (twice) and Twelfth Night were superb and would definitely be up there. But then I couldn't not mention ...some trace of her, which I had to see again because it just completely blew me away the first time.

And the list wouldn't be complete with Ivanov purely for the brilliance of the acting and The Good Soul of Szechuan which was my first tast of Brecht and has made me determined to see more.

Gig-wise well, there was no Muse (hopefully that means they are working on a new album), but there was Metallica who showed just what you can do in a big venue, Gogol Bordello whom I believe we actually saw three times this year, still not as good as the very first gig but they always get me jumping around and then James for pure sing-along and being so close to the front.

2009 promises to be another bumper year of entertainment but I'll write separately about that.

Went to see Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart for the second time last night. It has transferred to London from Stratford for a couple of months.
It was just as good as I remember it despite being disturbed by latecomers for the first 15 minutes. (They should be made to stand at the back until the interval if they can't be arsed to arrive on time. Or quietly shot)
However there was one other incident that irked me and ruffled anglo-american relations. In the traditional queue for the loos during the interval an American lady who was next to me struck up conversation by asking what I thought of the play so far. I told her I thought it was very good, to which she replied:

So then I pointed out politely that she had just insulted our best and most loved playwright but that I wouldn't hold it against her. She thanked me for this obviously not quite understanding what I actually meant was:
"I'm taking you outside now and throwing you to all the people who couldn't get tickets."