Hamlet
Sun, 10 Mar 2002, 08:27 amWalter Plinge10 posts in thread
Hamlet
Sun, 10 Mar 2002, 08:27 amI had the privilege of attending Opening night , at The New Fourtune Theatre, of Shakespeare's Hamlet.Amongst the occasional flash of lightning the setting is in the traditional Elizabethan style and is , for want of a better word, outside.
For those of you intending to go, rest assured seating is provided.
For those of you who are not aware, this is being Directed by Grant Malcolm.
I am a fan of Shakespeare and in particular of Hamlet. I was particularly impressed with David Meadows portrayal of Hamlet he certainly is a fine actor.
My only comment in a vaguely negative way would be the interpritation of Gertrude. She is a little harsher/stronger than I am used to.
Apart from a few fumblings with lines that only a Shakespeare buff would have noticed , I believe the performance is certainly well worth seeing.I highly recommend it
Carol Lange
For those of you intending to go, rest assured seating is provided.
For those of you who are not aware, this is being Directed by Grant Malcolm.
I am a fan of Shakespeare and in particular of Hamlet. I was particularly impressed with David Meadows portrayal of Hamlet he certainly is a fine actor.
My only comment in a vaguely negative way would be the interpritation of Gertrude. She is a little harsher/stronger than I am used to.
Apart from a few fumblings with lines that only a Shakespeare buff would have noticed , I believe the performance is certainly well worth seeing.I highly recommend it
Carol Lange
RE: Hamlet
Tue, 12 Mar 2002, 09:41 amWalter Plinge
WHAT: Hamlet
WHERE: New Fortune Theatre, University of Western Australia
WHEN: Friday March 8 (and coming soon, March 13-16, 20-23)
WHO: Director Grant Malcolm + a cast of thousands
It was indeed surprising for a Grant Malcolm play, starring David Meadows, Tim Collins and Shirley Welch to have fewer naked arses than expected (and so the tone of the review is set....).
Actually, despite my frequent reviews, it might be worth re-emphasising that I have no vast experience, no formal training, and an opinion that is entirely my own. I am certainly no expert, nor Shakespearean adept.
I enjoyed the show. Despite what anyone may think of David Meadows from his postings, he is certainly a talented actor. I am told he has played Hamlet before, and that he has worked with the Bell Shakespeare Company (though I'm not sure if these instances were one and the same). The hard part (to me) always seems to be the act (if that's the correct word) of delivering the unusual dialogue as though it's the most natural thing in the world. If we're just reciting the lines as written without understanding them, we may as well rote-learn it in Danish or the original Klingon. I felt Meadows did an excellent job. He felt every line. I know of one person in the audience (not me) who initially felt, "Hmmm, I don't know if Meadows is correct for the part," but was made a convert by the curtain.
I've seen a few of the Bard's plays and I always find that it takes my head 5 or 10 minutes to switch over to the foreign language. For me (and I don't think this is unreasonable), I feel that first 5 or 10 minutes needs to be very strong to quickly facilitate the audience's (my) adjustment. This wasn't bad, and the talented Mark Blades certainly helped, but the actors were combatting the sound.
The sound was stunning throughout (as was the set and the costumes). Sublime and eerie, it accentuated the entire production and was never too loud or overbearing. That being said, there were places where some actors needed to project over it. Maybe it was a case of opening night nerves.
The performance kicked into high gear with the appearance of the Great Dane and the rest of the Royal Court. Good work from Fred Lawson and Shirley Welch as Claudius and Gertrude. Collin O'Brien was wonderful as Polonius, emphasising what a busy-body meddling bastard he was. We can excuse the few line flubs, but I would've thought that someone with Collin's oh-so-vast experience could have done better than breathing on stage after Polonius gets the point. I mean, really, where's the dedication? How hard is it to hold your breath for 5 or 6 minutes for your art?
There were quite a few "theatre people" in the audience on opening night. At interval, a friend commented, "That Ophelia's a bit of all right, isn't she!" Yes. Yes she is. Fiona Blakeley (note spelling, Grant) swanned around ladylike (as always :-) ), but was even more effective when mad in Act 2. It's so easy to overdo it, or become a cliche', but her insanity was both spooky and very sad, hightened by effective make up and lighting.
Tony Petani and Eliot McCann were great as a couple of Hamlet's old chums. Their faces spoke volumes when put on the spot by Hammy. I would've loved to see more of these two wacky characters - one senses that they have an entire backstory of their own - but even Shakespeare has to limit his pagecount.
A few others: Adam McGurk's Emphatic Projection put some of the older members to shame. I really liked Dario Della Costa and Andrew Baker in their small, but very clear, roles. Peter Fry was an inspired gravedigger (if there is such a thing), cleverly used by Will and Grant to offset any fatigue half way through Act 2.
However, as well as Meadows, the actor that REALLY stood out for me was Ben Sorgiovanni as Dr Bruce ("Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry") Banner. Mild-mannered nuclear physicist in Act 1, saying good bye to his Father and Sister while he pops off to France, he returns in Act 2 as half a ton of raging emerald fury to avenge their deaths. My God, could we feel his rage and despair - made even more tragic by its comparison to Act 1's amiability. A flawless performance, well done!
It is a long play (and a long review), but I was very surprised to see how fast the time went. The show never dragged. I did lose concentration just once or twice (my fault) but was quickly re-absorbed in the production. Take Aeroguard. Take cushions. I was very disappointed in the amount of noise coming from the classroom(?) immediately next door (SL). Aren't uni students supposed to go to the pub on Friday nights? But seriously, if GRADS really have to go to so much effort and expense (as it says in the programme) to organise hire of the New Fortune Theatre, couldn't some arrangement be reached that adjoining rooms be unused during performances? The absolute worst part was when the crazy lady (in a black head scarf - if you see her, sit elsewhere) in the row in front of us accused us of making all the noise. It's sad when seeing a great production that one of the prominent memories is of an insane woman abusing your wife.
JB
WHERE: New Fortune Theatre, University of Western Australia
WHEN: Friday March 8 (and coming soon, March 13-16, 20-23)
WHO: Director Grant Malcolm + a cast of thousands
It was indeed surprising for a Grant Malcolm play, starring David Meadows, Tim Collins and Shirley Welch to have fewer naked arses than expected (and so the tone of the review is set....).
Actually, despite my frequent reviews, it might be worth re-emphasising that I have no vast experience, no formal training, and an opinion that is entirely my own. I am certainly no expert, nor Shakespearean adept.
I enjoyed the show. Despite what anyone may think of David Meadows from his postings, he is certainly a talented actor. I am told he has played Hamlet before, and that he has worked with the Bell Shakespeare Company (though I'm not sure if these instances were one and the same). The hard part (to me) always seems to be the act (if that's the correct word) of delivering the unusual dialogue as though it's the most natural thing in the world. If we're just reciting the lines as written without understanding them, we may as well rote-learn it in Danish or the original Klingon. I felt Meadows did an excellent job. He felt every line. I know of one person in the audience (not me) who initially felt, "Hmmm, I don't know if Meadows is correct for the part," but was made a convert by the curtain.
I've seen a few of the Bard's plays and I always find that it takes my head 5 or 10 minutes to switch over to the foreign language. For me (and I don't think this is unreasonable), I feel that first 5 or 10 minutes needs to be very strong to quickly facilitate the audience's (my) adjustment. This wasn't bad, and the talented Mark Blades certainly helped, but the actors were combatting the sound.
The sound was stunning throughout (as was the set and the costumes). Sublime and eerie, it accentuated the entire production and was never too loud or overbearing. That being said, there were places where some actors needed to project over it. Maybe it was a case of opening night nerves.
The performance kicked into high gear with the appearance of the Great Dane and the rest of the Royal Court. Good work from Fred Lawson and Shirley Welch as Claudius and Gertrude. Collin O'Brien was wonderful as Polonius, emphasising what a busy-body meddling bastard he was. We can excuse the few line flubs, but I would've thought that someone with Collin's oh-so-vast experience could have done better than breathing on stage after Polonius gets the point. I mean, really, where's the dedication? How hard is it to hold your breath for 5 or 6 minutes for your art?
There were quite a few "theatre people" in the audience on opening night. At interval, a friend commented, "That Ophelia's a bit of all right, isn't she!" Yes. Yes she is. Fiona Blakeley (note spelling, Grant) swanned around ladylike (as always :-) ), but was even more effective when mad in Act 2. It's so easy to overdo it, or become a cliche', but her insanity was both spooky and very sad, hightened by effective make up and lighting.
Tony Petani and Eliot McCann were great as a couple of Hamlet's old chums. Their faces spoke volumes when put on the spot by Hammy. I would've loved to see more of these two wacky characters - one senses that they have an entire backstory of their own - but even Shakespeare has to limit his pagecount.
A few others: Adam McGurk's Emphatic Projection put some of the older members to shame. I really liked Dario Della Costa and Andrew Baker in their small, but very clear, roles. Peter Fry was an inspired gravedigger (if there is such a thing), cleverly used by Will and Grant to offset any fatigue half way through Act 2.
However, as well as Meadows, the actor that REALLY stood out for me was Ben Sorgiovanni as Dr Bruce ("Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry") Banner. Mild-mannered nuclear physicist in Act 1, saying good bye to his Father and Sister while he pops off to France, he returns in Act 2 as half a ton of raging emerald fury to avenge their deaths. My God, could we feel his rage and despair - made even more tragic by its comparison to Act 1's amiability. A flawless performance, well done!
It is a long play (and a long review), but I was very surprised to see how fast the time went. The show never dragged. I did lose concentration just once or twice (my fault) but was quickly re-absorbed in the production. Take Aeroguard. Take cushions. I was very disappointed in the amount of noise coming from the classroom(?) immediately next door (SL). Aren't uni students supposed to go to the pub on Friday nights? But seriously, if GRADS really have to go to so much effort and expense (as it says in the programme) to organise hire of the New Fortune Theatre, couldn't some arrangement be reached that adjoining rooms be unused during performances? The absolute worst part was when the crazy lady (in a black head scarf - if you see her, sit elsewhere) in the row in front of us accused us of making all the noise. It's sad when seeing a great production that one of the prominent memories is of an insane woman abusing your wife.
JB
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