Hamlet (Schauspielhaus Graz)

This review is for the Friay, May 13th, 2011 performance of Hamlet by William Shakespeare at the Schauspielhaus Graz - Hauptbühne.

Acting - 8/10
Direction - 8/10
Design - 9/10
Sound - 9/10
Affectiveness - 8/10

Overall - 8.5/10

     You say Hamlet and immediately I think....great.....that show. I am always a bit reluctant to see a stage production of this play simply because, being an actor, I know the script really well and naturally have my preconceived motions of how it could be played. This reluctance is so silly because within the first few minutes of any Hamlet production I am won over and remember how nice and refreshing it is to see different version of such a well known story. And this production delievered just that.
     This production opened with Act 1 Scene 2 which was a direct jump into the story. I also believe Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were brought in a bit eariler than in the normal script (switching scenes?) and there were other cuts in this version of the play. All in all, I think the performance script was well cut and easy to follow.

Hamlet and Horatio talking about the Ghost

     The production's design was ultramodern and minimalistic. The backdrop and side curtains were made out of a transluscent white plastic material that gave a blank cavnas for all the symbolic special effect of dropping clothing from the ceiling. At various points throughout the show clothing fell from the sky, an effect that worked wonderfully. For example, after Ophelia's death, when Gertude delievers the account of the death, black pieces of sheer fabric slowly drifted from the sky giving the effect of a dark rain, a new take on pathetic fallacy. I was always interested to see what would drop because it was always colour-coded to deal with the feelings expressed in a given scene. By the end of the play there was so much clothing and fabric litering the floor that it was like a deep rough or swamp. This may have been a metaphor for the building tragedy and ensnaring treatchery.

Gertrude asks who Hamlet is talking to

     The acting was strong all round except for a few weak points like Ophelia's screaming craziness (played by Claire Sobottke - it just got too much), or Laertes' overexpressive hand movements (played by Rahul Chakraborty - no other actor was acting like that...and it didn't harmonize with the minimalist feeling of the show). Polonius (Franz Xaver Zach) was played with such care, he was a very loving father and a most loyal advisor to the king not like the bumbling old fool he is sometimes portrayed as. It was refreshing to see him as a strong character. Birgit Stöger showed a Gertrude who truly deteriorated as the play progressed, slowly injesting more and more alcohol and collapsing into herself with a broken heart. Claudius (Stefan Suske) was regal, arrogant, but sometimes overshadowed by Gertrude (she was also taller than him) which made him seem a weaker character than he ought to be. Guildenstern and Rosencratz (Alexander Knaipp and Gustav Koenigs) in particular stole the show almost during the play-within-the-play scene because they played the parts of 'Claudius' and 'Gertrude' both respectfully. These two brought enjoyment and played with such happiness that made the audience laugh. Nothing is worse than sitting through a tragedy that doesn't at least have one part that makes me laugh ['Why so serious?']. Finally, Hamlet performed by Claudius Körber was very believeable and interesting. It was nice to see someone under 30 play this role and with such precision like someone in his late 40s. Sometimes crazy, sometimes emo, sometimes fool-like, sometimes calm, Körber gave us a complex Hamlet as he should be played.
     The direction by Theu Boermans was simplistic, modern and percise giving us a very understandable and affective story. We didn't have to waste time with elaborate scene changes, or moving into different rooms of the castle. The actors showed us a scene change through the way  interacted with each other or the stage. I particularly liked that after the opening speech by Claudius it seemed as if the afterparty for his emalgimation took place behind the white transluscent curtain which added a very nice dimension to the all the business between Hamlet, Horatio and the Ghost. The Ghost never actually appeared by the way, we only heard the Ghosts voice.
     The sound effects were echoing cords played when the tension heightened within the piece which gave a nice veseral effect, a sense of suspense.
     Overall, the show was well exectued, interesting and memorable. Definately a production for people who don't know anything about Hamlet or those who want to see something different than Sir Lawrence Olivier's or Kennth Branagh's version of Elsinore. Young people who are experiencing Hamlet for the first time on stage (having maybe just read it in school) might be wondering where the castle is, and what's up with the dropping clothing. But don't let that deter you from seeing this great rendition of Shakespeare's masterpiece.