Review of Hamlet at The Gift Theatre

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Hamlet. It was written by William Shakespeare, and it was directed by Monty Cole. It was about Hamlet (Daniel Kyri), a prince of Denmark, whose father (Robert Cornelius) had died and whose mother, Gertrude (Shanesia Davis), had married his uncle Claudius (John Kelly Connolly) soon after. His friend Horatio (Casey Morris) sees the ghost of Hamlet's father and tells Hamlet about it. When Hamlet encounters the ghost, his father tells him about his brutal murder, so Hamlet decides to try to get revenge against Claudius. I think this is a really great version of Hamlet. It has amazing actors, a fabulous set, and a director with a new and awesome vision.

I have never seen a set (designed by William Boles) like this one before. There was a plexiglass wall between the audience and the stage. It gives you the feeling of looking in on all these scenes, seeing something that you're not supposed to, that was meant to be private. It can give the feeling that you are very separate from them, but also that they are just like you, that you and the characters are looking in mirrors, and you are just like them. Behind the plexiglass was a White-Housesque hallway with a filthy carpet strewn with trash, and there were smears on the lower part of the wall. It looks rotten, but it seems like they are still living in it. The characters would take things that they used throughout the show and just throw them on the floor, so you get to see all these different sections of the show on the floor, and it keep getting more uninhabitable. The something that is rotten in the state of Denmark is not just the monarchy; it's also the decor.

I really liked the emphasis on the father-son relationship in this show. In a lot of Hamlets, they use Hamlet's dad's ghost as a jump scare and motivation for Hamlet to avenge his father's death. But father-child relationships are so much more than that, and it is good to see why Hamlet is avenging him, how close their relationship was, and how much Hamlet depended on his dad. I think Kyri's performance did a great job of really showing the in-depth thoughts of Hamlet and how hard it was for him to let go of his dad. The ghost cannot usually touch people, but he can in this show. And Hamlet hugs him, which draws you in more to their relationship. Also the ghost was wearing a hospital gown. It shows that he didn't die right away, which makes it a lot more powerful. He is not in full fighting gear, which makes him seem more vulnerable. Also, when they are doing the play within the play, Hamlet doesn't let the play alone show Claudius that Hamlet knows what he had done. He started playing a mix of a video of baby Hamlet with his dad and The Lion King, which I think was even more powerful. They let it play all through the intermission so you could marinate in it. It is like the play never really stops.

Usually when I see Hamlet, I know that there are going to be a lot of deaths, but I don't care about all of them. But in this one, I most certainly did. Polonius (Cornelius) is usually self-important and foolish, but in this production he seemed like a really good dad to Ophelia (Netta Walker) and Laertes (Gregory Fenner). So it makes more sense when Ophelia goes crazy when he dies. Ophelia seemed very reasonable. So much more reasonable than I've ever seen Ophelia be. In other productions, sometimes she seems like a jerk to Hamlet and sometimes she seems like a victim, but she was neither in this one. She seems less influenced by the people around her in this production, but she is still not disobedient to her father. In some productions she is a wilting flower, but in this production she is very grounded and a fully-alive flower, which is why it is so powerful to see her go from 100 to 0, from fine to completely not fine. Also, Laertes has a heartbreaking death, and it is not just because of the awesome fight choreography (by Gaby Labotka). It is also because of all the times you see him interacting with Ophelia in really normal ways, like eating Cheetos and playing video games. They are just siblings who love each other, and he is so heartbroken by Ophelia's death and his father's. They are such a tight-knit family that when they fall apart you really feel it.

People who would like this show are people who like rotten decor, baby Hamlets, and Ophelia and Laertes playing video games. I think this is an amazing show. It basically did everything right, and I absolutely loved it.


Photos: Claire Demos