The “National Theatre Live” broadcast of Hamlet, though not truly live, was nonetheless an entertaining and engaging performance to watch in the Michigan Theater. The historical theater was a great location for the broadcast. The magnificent interior design of the theater was as impressive as the set of Hamlet in London, and the powerful pipe organ performance before the screening generated a solemn atmosphere, and the sum of these experiences made up for the two-dimensionality of the performance that so many people had come to watch together.
Despite my previous assumption that I would not enjoy the performance as much as if I were seeing it live simply because I was not “seeing,” or actively searching for details at my discretion, and the
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performance was being “shown” to me, with a set camera angle and focus, I quickly gained an appreciation for my loss of control. The camera’s ability to zoom in on the actors allowed me to see the subtle movements, such as Hamlet’s ongoing restlessness during Claudius’s speech in the beginning of the play and the envy on his face as as he looks to the speaking Laertes, whose father still lives. It is better to be able to see these changes in acting from a broadcast than to miss it completely at a live performance where one could potentially not see as well from his or her seat, and it is especially important in Hamlet, a play in which several characters undergo internal struggles that, if exaggerated to make it more visible to the audience, makes their hardships less profound than they should be. In this performance, Benedict Cumberbatch effectively presents the conflicts and the many masks of Hamlet.
Cumberbatch excels at expressing Hamlet’s contemplative nature during his soliloquies as well as his calculated madness during his interactions with the other actors. In Hamlet’s first soliloquy, Cumberbatch shifts from a shrinking passively to voicing his pain as he says, “Let me not think on ’t. Frailty, thy name is woman!” In the previous statement, it sounds as if he is sincerely trying to forget. The truth is like a dagger to his heart and he cannot bear to think negatively of his mother but must inevitably do so, and Cumberbatch emphasizes this transition by quickly entering a state of despair. Given the task of playing an actor who deliberately acts mad at times and normal at others, Cumberbatch ensures that the madness is reigned in enough so that his reflections are taken seriously, allowing the audience to see the depth of his …show more content…
emotions. Though Benedict Cumberbatch is an expressive Hamlet, the relationships between some of the other characters seems superficial. The performance did not provide any clues about the questionable relationship between Claudius and Gertrude for the audience to interpret. Thus, although they were present in the play, it is hard for the audience to gain insight into their personalities or have strong feelings toward their actions. Furthermore, I found it strange that the most moving part of the performance was Ophelia’s slow and final exit and Gertrude’s realization of Ophelia’s loss of will to live. That the most impactful moment of a person experiences when he or she has lost interest in living should come from Ophelia and not from Hamlet is slightly disappointing. Nevertheless, it was a treat to see the all the actors interact on the elaborate set and use the modern props. The rubble that is blown into the stage behind Claudius as the first half of the performance ends is a great visual representation of the turbulence in the state. The plate with Claudius's face was also an amusing choice that contrasted very well with the noble portrait of the elder Hamlet. However, the framing of the camera sometimes prevented the audience in Michigan to fully appreciate the use of all of the props and aspects of the stage by focusing on certain details and overlooking others. With a stage as carefully designed as Hamlet’s is, it is a shame that the people watching the broadcast can only wonder about what else is happening while they watch the performance. Overall, the production was an energetic, colorful, reasonably fast-paced but slightly long performance of Hamlet that will appeal to people of all ages.
The relationship between certain characters may not be as developed as those who are familiar with the plot of Hamlet, but Benedict Cumberbatch is a convincing Hamlet whose acting is just as thought-provoking as Hamlet’s soliloquies. When watching the live production of Hamlet, one can see and hear more subtle details and actions due to the method with which the cameras film the performance, but one may also miss out on some larger details, such as the minor characters interactions and movements on the stage outside of the frame of the camera. Though watching a broadcast may not be satisfying for all audiences, the “National Theatre Live” broadcast of Hamlet has the potential to be just as gratifying as watching a live performance of
Hamlet.
One of the most emotional and moving scenes in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is in Act III, Scene I lines 90-155 in which the title character becomes somewhat abusive toward his once loved girlfriend Ophelia. It is interesting to examine the possible motives behind Hamlet's blatant harshness in this "Get the to a nunnery" scene toward the easily manipulated and mild mannered girl. While watching Kenneth Branagh and Mel Gibson's film adaptations of the play, the audience may recognize two possibilities of the many that may exist which may explain the Prince's contemptible behavior; Kenneth Branaugh seems to suggest that this display of animosity will help the troubled man convince his enemies that he is in fact demented, whereas the Mel Gibson work may infer that Hamlet's repressed anger toward his mother causes him to "vent" his frustrations upon Ophelia, the other female of importance in his life.
After demolishing the theories of other critics, Bradley concluded that the essence of Hamlet’s character is contained in a three-fold analysis of it. First, that rather than being melancholy by temperament, in the usual sense of “profoundly sad,” he is a person of unusual nervous instability, one liable to extreme and profound alterations of mood, a potential manic-depressive type. Romantic, we might say. Second, this Hamlet is also a person of “exquisite moral sensibility, “ hypersensitive to goodness, a m...
On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, I attended a musical concert. This was the first time I had ever been to a concert and did not play. The concert was not what I expected. I assumed I was going to a symphony that featured a soloist clarinet; however, upon arrival I quickly realized that my previous assumptions were false. My experience was sort of a rollercoaster. One minute I was down and almost asleep; next I was laughing; then I was up and intrigued.
I chose to do my concert critique on Eric Clapton-MTV unplugged full concert-HQ January 16, 1992 at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England. Eric Clapton is my favorite rock n roll singer which has a mixture of genres. The concert was inside and on stage. The audience was seated up close to the stage which made the atmosphere comfortable; Eric and the band showed much warmth and connected with the crowd it wasn’t like the band was untouchable.
Zeffirelli’s filmic Hamlet evidently interprets the original play especially considering Mel Gibson’s performance making it easy for the audience to understand Shakespearean dialect. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a man with friends who proves to be much more reserved, and manipulative than someone might imagine today. His hamlet is considerate in his plans, but with no tact interpersonally. Zeffirelli’s audience is required to focus on the troubles, and character of Hamlet, who is nonstop, and unfriendly, but a sensitive loner when the time is right. Zeffirelli accomplishes this mixture while staying faithful to his starting place my maintaining solid screenplay with a constant flow supporting his own take on the story. Concisely, Zeffirelli’s Hamlet is both a free and a loyal understanding of its source, which is, for today’s viewers, a Hamlet in its own right.
In Hamlet’s speech, Shakespeare’s efforts to target his Elizabethan audience develop the theme of the frailty of man. Shakespeare conveys this underlying theme of the play by subt...
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most produced plays of all time. Written during the height of Shakespeare’s fame—1600—Hamlet has been read, produced, and researched by more individuals now than during Shakespeare’s own lifetime. It is has very few stage directions, because Shakespeare served as the director, even though no such official position existed at the time. Throughout its over 400 years of production history, Hamlet has seen several changes. Several textual cuts have been made, in addition to the liberties taken through each production. In recent years, Hamlet has seen character changes, plot changes, gender role reversals, alternate endings, time period shifts, and thematic alternations, to name only a few creative liberties modern productions of Hamlet have taken.
Venkova, Savina. “Theatrical Analysis: Hamlet, Shakespeare.” Rev. of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. Helium. Helium Inc., 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
Hamlet, one of the most intricate and influential plays by Shakespeare, debatably of all time. It has inspired not only appreciative readers and writing critiques but continuous generations of people. The inspiration led to the fabrication of many great movies, which wasn’t achievable until the 20th century. Before cinema was the prevalent method of sharing appreciation and spilling emotion for a specific subject, art portrayed what would fly through our minds such as the many interpretations of Ophelia’s death. With the imagery put into motion we can try and pick apart how certain people might view the play being portrayed and choose what best suits our expectation of this tragedy. Other things that only film has been able to present to us is the various camera angles, a setting that isn’t restricted to a stage and an audience that can be reached anywhere in the world. Also who is casted and how they will be dressed is crucial to the success of the movie although sometimes overlooked during the production process. Some movies represent these elements of mise-en-scene in an excellent matter such as the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet, while others would seem to disappoint my expectations for a great re-visualization of our suicidal hero like Micheal Almereyda’s Hamlet staring Ethan Hawke. Admirably though every Hamlet film to date has its own unique style, something that will please all audiences, with its unique pros and cons.
Hamlet makes extensive use of the idea of theatrical performance; from revealing characters to not be what they seem - as they act to be - to Hamlet’s play The Mousetrap and his instruction of acting to the players. The extensive use of the stage in the stage directions, as well as numerous monologues and asides, have Hamlet itself acting as a literary device for the motif of theatrical performance.
Different adaptations of William Shakespeare’s works have taken various forms. Through the creative license that artists, directors, and actors take, diverse incarnations of his classic works continue to arise. Gregory Doran’s Hamlet and Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet bring William Shakespeare’s work by the same title to the screen. These two film adaptations take different approaches in presenting the turmoil of Hamlet. From the diverging takes on atmosphere to the characterization of the characters themselves, the many possible readings of Hamlet create the ability for the modification of the presentation and the meaning of the play itself. Doran presents David Tenant as Hamlet in a dark, eerie, and minimal setting; his direction highlighting the
Instead of a grand tragedy of a royal house, the modern Hamlet is a detective story about a dead rich guy and his son the beginner detective. Yet, the acting of the actors and the special effects more or less manage to make up for the flaw. Bill Murray who plays Polonious is harsh and tight. Ethan Hawke is illustrated as a weak and normal prince. Julia Stiles does not do Ophelia any justice. Ther...
As the play’s tragic hero, Hamlet exhibits a combination of good and bad traits. A complex character, he displays a variety of characteristics throughout the play’s development. When he is first introduced in Act I- Scene 2, one sees Hamlet as a sensitive young prince who is mourning the death of his father, the King. In addition, his mother’s immediate marriage to his uncle has left him in even greater despair. Mixed in with this immense sense of grief, are obvious feelings of anger and frustration. The combination of these emotions leaves one feeling sympathetic to Hamlet; he becomes a very “human” character. One sees from the very beginning that he is a very complex and conflicted man, and that his tragedy has already begun.
...s, Melanie Anne, and Chris Huntley. "Hamlet Comprehensive Storyform." Dramatica® The Next Chapter in Story Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Jan. 2014. .
Hamlet is one of the most often-performed and studied plays in the English language. The story might have been merely a melodramatic play about murder and revenge, butWilliam Shakespeare imbued his drama with a sensitivity and reflectivity that still fascinates audiences four hundred years after it was first performed. Hamlet is no ordinary young man, raging at the death of his father and the hasty marriage of his mother and his uncle. Hamlet is cursed with an introspective nature; he cannot decide whether to turn his anger outward or in on himself. The audience sees a young man who would be happiest back at his university, contemplating remote philosophical matters of life and death. Instead, Hamlet is forced to engage death on a visceral level, as an unwelcome and unfathomable figure in his life. He cannot ignore thoughts of death, nor can he grieve and get on with his life, as most people do. He is a melancholy man, and he can see only darkness in his future—if, indeed, he is to have a future at all. Throughout the play, and particularly in his two most famous soliloquies, Hamlet struggles with the competing compulsions to avenge his father’s death or to embrace his own. Hamlet is a man caught in a moral dilemma, and his inability to reach a resolution condemns himself and nearly everyone close to him.