"Hamlet" at Shotgun Players

This is a piece I've been needing to write for a while, but I hadn't actually seen Shotgun's Hamlet since I started the blog. This was my sixth time seeing this production, for reasons that will become clear shortly.

The Gimmic

I'll spare you a summary of "Hamlet," focusing instead on what Shotgun and director Mark Jackson have done with this classic work. The short answer is they have reduced the text to something like it's core, removing plotlines and characters to focus on a few key relationships. The result is a 2.5 hour version of the play that can be fully performed by only seven actors (with some playing multiple roles).

That by itself is a pretty ambitious undertaking, but then they apply a layer of chance to it, roulette-style. All seven actors know the whole play, and their parts for each performance are drawn by chance (out of Yorick's skull, just for good measure) five minutes before curtain time, after which they all run backstage to don costumes and prepare.

What allows this to work is a minimal set with few props, and what it enables is a truly fascinating examination of the relationships of the characters in the play. So often, "Hamlet" is seen as a star vehicle, where the one actor playing Hamlet is the focus of the attention, and that is, of necessity, still the case. But because the cast is a mix of ages, races, and genders, we have to question many of the standard assumptions about the relationships involved. What does it mean if Hamlet is played by a woman? What if Ophelia is a woman of color? What if Hamlet's parents are the same gender? The combinations and the issues they raise are at least as numerous as the number of unique casting combinations (5,040--seven factorial) available.

As a result, one leaves the play examining questions that would likely never have arisen in a traditional casting and staging.

Now add one more factor: although "Hamlet" has completed its initial run, it will continue in repertory with four other plays for the rest of the year, through next January. So it's a play you can revisit over time, seeing a variant probably never seen before, with a different Hamlet, etc.

The Play

I like the trimmed-down version of the play. Those who know and love every word of Shakespeare's play might be a little disappointed, though all of the major speeches are retained. But if you're not a purist, you will probably appreciate the work that Jackson and the cast have done in paring down the text to something that is both manageable for the actors who have to learn it all and satisfying from the perspective of the messages of the play.

The Production

All seven actors are excellent. The key is that each much be able to carry the play as Hamlet, but also convincingly play all the rest of the characters. Several of the actors are well known to Shotgun regulars: Beth Wilmurt, Megan Trout, Kevin Clarke, and Nick Medina are all company members, and David Sinaiko and El Beh have worked at Shotgun previously. New to Shotgun is Cathleen Riddley, who is a strong performer with many local credits.

Among the challenges of a play with an ever-changing casting are creating are the logistics of making everyone perform certain parts the same way (so, for example, one isn't delivering a soliloquy on one side of the stage when the next interaction is expected on the other). And there are fencing scenes, where each actor must be able to do both sides, against any of the six other actors. Rehearsals must have been amazing and complex.

My Impressions

When I first heard about the idea of doing this show, my reaction was basically that the idea was insane, and that I absolutely would go see it, probably a lot. Watching it come into being, I'm pretty clear that the idea is insane, but the result is quite amazing and wonderful. As a non-actor, I am always impressed when an actor pulls off a great role. When I see this troupe succeeding with "Hamlet," night after night in different permutations, it's just stupefying.

So, yes, I have seen the play six times already, and defying probability, I have seen six different actors play Hamlet, and each brings something different to the role. For instance, Megan Trout, who played the role this most recent viewing, brings an amazing physicality to the role, bouncing around the stage in an almost manic display. Nick Medina is a more brooding, intellectual Hamlet, and David Sinaiko seethes with a suppressed rage from the opening moment.

Obviously, the differences in the lead role percolate through the whole performance, but other players also make a big difference. For example, as Claudius, Hamlet's foil, Beth Wilmurt plays the role with a stoic, regal quality, where Nick Medina portrays him as a scheming, almost cartoonish villain. And it all works, and every night you go away with a different impression and something new to think about.

I could go on at great length, because there is a complexity to the production that just keeps giving. I always leave wanting to go back and see it again, thinking "Oh, wouldn't it be great to see what [some other actor] does with [some particular scene/situation]?" The freshness of each performance and the amazing energy that starts with the seven actors, all dressed alike, standing on stage waiting to learn what role each will play that night, are contagious.

Bottom Line

You should go see this show. It's in repertory for the rest of the year. I predict you will want to go back and see it again. Ultimately, my gauge for a play is whether I'm still thinking and talking about it the next day, the next week, the next month. Somehow, most of the theater conversations I've had for the last several months end up touching on this "Hamlet" in one way or another. In the middle of the last scene this time, I had a sudden flash of the ending of "Hamilton" (probably because the soundtrack has been playing in the car a lot), and realized some interesting similarities.

This is a production that is going to be on people's minds for a long, long time. I have nothing but admiration for the seven intrepid actors who have undertaken this journey, and I'm glad to be sharing a part of it.