Review of Shakespeares Hamlet on the Stage - Research Paper Example

?Review of Shakespeare’s Hamlet on the Stage Since the writing of Hamlet, the top-hitting tragedy of William Shakespeare, production of the drama hasbeen enacted on stage worldwide. First, it was Richard Burbage who played the role of Hamlet, to be followed by Joseph Taylor. Later when theatres were reopened in 1660, the long chain of the actors who played the role of Hamlet included Thomas Betterton, David Garrick, Edmund Kean, Olivier, Steven Berkoff, and finally George Dillon (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 2). Hamlet of the seventeenth century after Burbage’s enactment of Hamlet, is allusive, presented as a mad avenger, his energy level is shown high enough projecting him to the extent of comically mad but without questioning his courage and decision-making as per the Elizabethan practices. The age of restoration was relatively sober, as David Garrick, acting Hamlet from 1742 to 1776, presented the character of Hamlet in all sober misconceptions, and the character was played ditto for the next 200 years, in the practice of madness, in the drowning of sadness, in the intimacy of friendship, in the maze of passion, or in the feelings of tenderness. The character of Hamlet always remained in the garb of a prince in various situations and change of emotions. Hamlet is full of superior upbringing and royalty, as stated by playwright Hannah More of Garrick in 1774 (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 2). Later, in 1783 the twenty-six -year-old John Philip Kemble presented a challenge to the leading character of the time, John Henderson, and captured the stage after his death for the next thirty years. Garrick’s enactment of Hamlet in all ‘naturalism’ was replaced by Kemble's style, which was full of sophistication to suit the conservative taste of the time, totally traditional. Melancholy was written large on the face of the character of Hamlet portrayed by Kemble. Sadness could be traced in all his accompaniments, making other traits such as levity, anger, softness, and intellectual solace elusive (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 3-4). Next to follow the character portrayal of Hamlet was Edmund Kean who played the role of Hamlet by totally reversing in outlook with Kemble as well in acting. He stuck to the naturalism of Garrick. Garrick’s eighty years old widow, Drury Lane, used to come to see all his dramas of Hamlet and praised Kean as Garrick's genuine successor. Kean was liked in the role of Hamlet even by the niece of his predecessor, Fanny Kemble, particularly his reading as “exquisitely touching and melodious in its tenderness, and in the harsh dissonance of vehement passion, terribly true” (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 5). Nevertheless, Kean was not regular in performances, compelling Samuel Coleridge to remark that seeing him was 'like reading Shakespeare by flashes of lightning' (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 5). The magic of Shakespeare’s original text was brought back in the late nineteenth century through the magnetic star actor William Poel, not using professional artists, replacing them with Edward Gordon Craig and Harley Granville Barker for humbling actors to planned way and encouraging total control of the director. Poel dedicated 50 years tryst to present Shakespeare 'exactly as it was given the first time it was acted' in Elizabethan dresses, using no sets, but playing music on original instruments. Poel employed the briefer and relatively action-filled First Quarto of Hamlet as the content for his first historic drama in 1881. He also began the tiresome fashion of playing Shakespeare as it was; the first 'complete text' drama of Hamlet. Later in 1901, Francis Benson at the Lyceum produced Hamlet by including content from the three texts (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 6). Till then, there was no psychological interference to perform a psycho-analysis process on acting till the Age of Science. The Hamlet of the early nineteenth century was poetic to the limit, and the acting included declamatory presentation, dignified style, sweeping actions and long breaks. This artificiality in acting by the start of the twentieth century got challenging reviews, changing the presentation, for example, of the soliloquies being performed as 'spoken thoughts' with Forbes-Robertson and even Henry Irving, not making an eye-contact with the audience. Thus, later in the 1920s and 1930s it turned out to be the final triumph of psychological acting (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 7). The historical journey of the presentation of Hamlet saw revolutionary change in the 1960s when Olivier selected Peter O'Toole in Hamlet as the first production of the National Theatre at the Old Vic in 1963 and pointed in the program that Hamlet was similar to John Osborne's original angry young man, Jimmy Porter. Hamlet was played by Richard Burton, who had given the lead role of angry young man to Jimmy Porter in the movie of Look Back in Anger, in 1964. This production of Hamlet, directed by John Gielgud, and his strong and aggressive Hamlet got worldwide applause, breaking all past records at the box-office on Broadway. There was no looking back from thereon, as David Warner; the youngest Stratford Hamlet of 24 years was directed by Peter Hall in 1965, speaking his soliloquies straight to the audience (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 8). Thus, experiments in the production of Hamlet went on with female Hamlets also. Peter Hall, once again directed Hamlet for the last time in 1976 from the National Theatre at the Old Vic, the role played by the 39 year-old Albert Finney, a muscular, Lancashire-dialect, not like a prince, sophisticated, experienced young man, making speedier poetic speeches (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 9). Dillon’s own review of Hamlet, about its events showers praises of enacting in true classical trend, very brief, events happening consequently, as each of the three actions of the play do not cross the time beyond 48 hours. Self-critique of the Hamlet by Hamlet through the soliloquies and the closet scene is an emanation of the frustration of a man who can and does kill in a moment both hot and cold blood. On the other hand, Laertes's intention to cut Hamlet's throat in the church, which scholars have randomly appreciated by contrasting it with Hamlet's so-called inaction, shows only lack of courage (“Dillon’s Interpretation of Hamlet,” par. 3). So many actors have performed the role of Hamlet concurrently that one of them, named Rory Kinnear, son of the late, great comic actor Roy Kinnear, is worth mentioning to be worthy of standing in line with Tennant in catching the humanity, humor, pain and multi-various complication of the role (Spencer, “Hamlet, National Theatre, Review,” par. 1). Kinnear’s originality of layman trait appeals to everybody in Hamlet, giving the inclination that he is a commoner but very smart and emotional, as the character is put into a critically serious situation that almost sways his own being. Very often his voice gets obstructed because of grief, as if Kinnear is passing through his own sorrowful experience of losing a father, but no one can miss the quick bites of wit, long-lasting warmth, and touches of humor. The final act reveals the difficult-to-attain feeling of heightened level of spiritual purity. His delivering of soliloquies and “To be or not to be,” glimpses all his reflections and emotions. The complicated character that Prince Hamlet in Hamlet is, no one has ever reached so near to his evasive complexity, as Kinnear has by finding a powerful feeling of morality in the character of Hamlet besides other leading traits, such as anger, divisive mood changing, the garb of madness that the character of Hamlet wears (Spencer, “Hamlet, National Theatre, Review,” par. 2-3). The off-late dramatization of Hamlet in the Broad Stage in Santa Monica presents a lean Hamlet on the huge stage. Director, Bill Buckhurst manages with the casting of just 8 actors with the help of his team of editors, designers, and actors, taking the Shakespeare epic towards a relatively Brechtian style, which creates interest but fails in production (Antoinne, “Los Angeles Theater Review: HAMLET,” par. 1). The costumes create a flashback of war-time, but space is insufficient. Actors and musicians create life through their talents. A change of trends can be seen in not bringing down of house lights and adding an original score by musicians Laura Forrest-Hay and composer and arranger Bill Barclay. Production is lighter than melancholic, and lacks balance and concurrent emotionality (Antoinne, “Los Angeles Theater Review: HAMLET,” par. 2). From acting point-of-view, Michael Benz is full of confidence; he is full of vigor, defeating melancholy unlike traditional Hamlets; he is intelligent, sexy, full of energy, and fun. Otherwise, the Buckhurst Globe production is a new experiment of presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet through Brechtian’s mirror (Antoinne, “Los Angeles Theater Review: HAMLET” par. 3). (photos by Fiona Moorhead) The popularity of Hamlet can be appraised from the 1979 review when Steven Berkoff arranged the finance to direct his Edinburgh production of Hamlet by selling the premium bonds of his mother. His remarks in the production journal I am Hamlet speak volumes of the popularity the play gained: 'Since Hamlet touches the complete alphabet of human experience every actor feels he is born to play it. The bold extrovert will dazzle and play with the word power... The introvert will see every line pointed at him, the outsider, the loner, the watcher, he... The wit will play for laughs and the lunatic for madness...' (Dillon, “Hamlet, Stage History,” par. 10-11). Works Cited Antoinne, Thomas. “Los Angeles Theater Review: HAMLET.” 17 November 2012. Stage and Cinema. 27 November 2012 . Dillon, George. “Dillon’s Interpretation of Hamlet.” 19 March 2006. George Dillon. 27 November 2012 . Dillon, George. “HAMLET: Stage History.” 19 March 2006. George Dillon. 27 November 2012 . Spencer, Charles. “Hamlet, National Theatre, Review.” The Telegraph. 8 October 2010. 27 November 2012 . Read More