| |
Theatre listings >
Theatre Index >>
Hamlet
- Tour & Scottish Premiere.
Part of the 2003 Bank Of Scotland Children's International Theatre Festival.
Adaptor - Jesper B. Karlsen from the play by William Shakespeare.
Director - Marc van der Velden.
Designer - Julie Forchammer.
Composer - Jesper Egelund Pedersen.
Cast - Here.
Company - Det Lille
Turnéteater ( The Little Touring Theatre) From Denmark.
Venue & Dates - At
Garage Theatre. Tickets from Traverse 0131 228 1404.
1 June 7.00pm
2 June 12.30pm & 7.00pm
3 June 12.30pm & 7.00pm
4 June 10.00am & 12.30pm.
Seen to review on 1 June at Garage Theatre Edinburgh.
Suggested Age - 13+ years.
Running Time - 1 hour 20 minutes no interval.
Reviewer - Thelma Good.
Fresh Danish recreation makes Hamlet live.
In this immediate and vibrant version of Shakespeare's famous tragedy,
Hamlet, Morten Nielsen, and Horatio, Peter Holst, are such
friends, such close friends. We see them when they were carefree and Hamlet's
father was king.
What I hear you say, Shakespeare never wrote.. ah but Jesper B. Karlsen
has taken the play and shaped it so Horatio can fulfil Hamlet's dying
request, "Tell my story." When Horatio comes and says in a heartbroken
voice, "He was my best friend," the tears sting in your eyes.
These are sincere, extraordinary performances in the acting from Neilsen
and Holst, and the double bass playing by Jesper Egelund Pedersen
and Christian Glahn.
We see the young pair go up to the battlements to mimic the soaring eagles
and witness how smitten Hamlet is with Ophelia. The teenage audience laugh,
recognising his inept and endearing attempts to woo her. Sporting imaginary
swords they fight a duel in which Hamlet "dies" like a amdram
actor in Horatio's arms. It all makes you think maybe the Shakespeare
play's starts too late in the story.
In Karlsen's & Nielsen's Hamlet we painfully watch the bright
eyed heir to the throne following his father's sudden death, change when
he encounters his father's ghost, a eirie grinning skull on a double bass
turning and moving, on those same battlements. The turbulent mix of young
manhood, disgust at his mother's hasty remarriage and his altered future
impact disastrously upon the sunny, mischievous prince of Denmark.
Sliding his jacket to his elbows so it becomes a wrap, Peter Holst's
Gertrude is a mother who likes rather than loves her Hamlet up until
the final act when she sees her new husband properly. The contrast of
her affection to Horatio's, in Holst's playing of both, is sharp
and saddening.
There are so many good touches in this adaptation of Shakespeare's text
which sometimes has new lines of verse, some soliquies do not appear others
are distilled to their essence, so Morten's Hamlet says only, "To
be or not to be", and it is enough. The double basses are employed
in a variety of ways, and as well being beautifully played conventionally
are also used to produced all the sound effects, seagulls, creaking ship's
timbers and horses. It's a complete top quality production, breathtaking
taking us into the aching heart of friendship trying to find a way to
exist in a rotten state.
In Britain we rarely see extensively adapted Shakespeare, adding modern
lines is even rarer. In Karlsen's line,s for example, "There are
more things in heaven and earth than you and I might dream," the
lyricism echoes the original while striking a modern note. Aimed at teenagers
the rapturous response from them and the rest of the audience confirms
this clear, adaptation and production consummately communicates to us
all.
©Thelma Good 1 June 2003 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
More
info and reviews on the annual Bank of Scotland Children's International
Theatre Festival.
Cast - Actors - Peter Holst and Morten Nielsen.
Musicians - Jesper Egelund Pedersen and Christian Glahn.
Theatre Editor, Thelma
Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted
for any errors or omissions.
Theatre
listings >
Theatre
Index >>
|
|
