THE PLAY’S THE THING

Wherein I’ll Capture the Conscience of … All

The literary genius of the greatest playwright of all time is done justice by the artistic brilliance of Bell Shakespeare Company’s latest production of Hamlet. Honest, un-affected, real, and yet unreal, it is an absolute must-see for anyone open-minded enough to appreciate being prompted to re-evaluate their morals, beliefs and consciences.

image

Hamlet is the most famous and enduringly popular of all Shakespeare’s plays. It is a work of universal appeal, speaking to every age, in every language. The gripping plot has everything which the classical and the modern audience alike both crave, from treachery and murder, to a turbulent love affair, to ghosts and spirits.

In the Kingdom of Denmark, the young Prince Hamlet mourns the death of his father the King and struggles to come to terms with his mother’s hasty remarriage – to her late husband’s brother, who now both wears the crown of Hamlet’s father and sleeps in the royal bed with his mother. When Hamlet discovers the dark and dastardly fact that his uncle murdered his father, he vows revenge. He plans to have a play performed before the royal court which re-enacts the murder scene, in order to “capture the conscience of the King”, revealing his guilt to all. An accidental murder, a suicide, a fencing duel and a poisoned chalice later, and the stage is littered with the corpses of the entire royal family.

image

Whenever Shakespeare is performed we are conscious of the genius of that man, mesmerised by the beauty of his words and in awe of the power of the thoughts behind them. No matter how many times we see the same play, we always discover something new – a fresh perspective on a much-loved passage, or an appreciation for an understated line we’ve never noticed before – and inevitably leave the theatre pondering some profound truth or some intriguing life-question.

This is never more the case than with Hamlet. The young hero himself is enigmatic, intelligent, tormented and impulsive, with an enquiring mind, wrestling with questions of loyalty, sensuality, spirituality, identity and mortality.

Some of the most well-known and oft-quoted lines of poetry, which are part of the fabric of our cultural consciousness and which most English speakers can recite verbatim, whether they’ve studied Shakespeare or not – “To be or not to be, that is the question”, “To thine ownself be true”, “Frailty, thy name is woman” – come from Hamlet. These lines, and others, are not merely famous, but pregnant with depth and meaning, and it would be a waste worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy if they were not afforded soulful and introspective meditation.

Josh McConville does not just “play” Hamlet, he embodies him, making the role his own in a performance which can only be described as inspired. His stage presence is so enormous, so vital, so passionate, it is almost dangerous. He ruses and rants and riles and writhes with such intensity of feeling and such complete absorption that he does not register the clothing is falling off his body. At one point he thrills those sitting in the first few rows by coming down off the stage into the audience and delivering a soliloquy from one of the seats. Even the ultimate test of an actor’s skill – the on-stage death scene – is not too much for McConville, who convincingly wheezes and spits and froths at the mouth until all movement stops.

Hamlet

Matilda Ridgway likewise delivers a strong, believable performance as Hamlet’s girlfriend Ophelia. And it is always a treat to see familiar faces, like Doris Younane of McLeod’s Daughters, who plays Hamlet’s mother the Queen.

The Director Damien Ryan, makes some excellent decisions in his interpretation of the classic script. Featuring modern dress, as well as aeroplanes, television, answering machines and condoms, whilst maintaining the language pure and keeping swords, daggers and fencing duels, a world neither past nor present is created, helping to keep the tale and truths within timeless.

A simple set design helps draw a focus on two physical emblems of themes within the play – the Royal bed, “a couch for luxury and damned incest”, which symbolises sexual shame, disgust, repression and abandon; and the flowers which are present whenever Ophelia is on-stage, (she even sits on a bunch of roses at one point) representing wild, untamed, death–dealing nature and wasted hope.

Just as Hamlet’s play-within-a-play cuts to the bone of the King, bringing darkness to light, drawing up the ugliness from within, shocking him into self-analysis and prayer, the larger play itself challenges our preconceptions and inspires us to reflection. Do not miss this one. But go with a mind prepped for being probed.

Hamlet

Hamlet is showing at the Playhouse of the Sydney Opera House from 27 October to 6 December 2015. Ticket prices start from $35 for under 30s.

Alicia Tripp
Alicia is a seasoned arts and music journalist, as a former critic for the ABC Limelight magazine and State of the Arts. She has a degree in Media & Communications, English and Music from the University of Sydney.