Observation of a Production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet
On Saturday October 14, 2000, the North Carolina Shakespeare festival put on a performance of Hamlet. This show, which was performed at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina, was directed by _____________________, who also directed ____________________. ___________________ did a really good job at playing Hamlet, which is a very hard role to act for any actor. Hamlet was produced by the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, which is a group of actors that travel around NC and the South, running productions of Shakespeare's many plays. The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival put on a production of Taming of the shrew on October 13, where the actor who played Hamlet played a servant of a rich landowner.
Out of all the players in Hamlet, two that really stuck out in my mind are Hamlet and Polonious. __________________'s portrale of Hamlet was very energetic and believable. Where ____________ was silly and almost humorous in his portrale of Polonious. Two players that really disappointed me in their performances were _____________________ and _________________________. The king, who was played by _______________ was dry and inconvincible, and ______________________ who played Hamlet's mother was very fake and uninteresting.
Out of the whole play, the scene that struck me as the most memorable was the scene where Hamlet sees his father and makes everyone that is with him to swear that they won't speak a word of what they saw to anyone or anything. They are all sitting in a circle and Hamlet asks them to swear and then the lights dim and a red light turns on. Then a big ominous voice pounds down from above (it is hamlet's father) and commands them to swear. This happens many times until all the people say that they will swear.(it is also quite comical.). The scene where hamlet kills Polonious was just as I had expected it to be, where as the scene where hamlet makes his famous "to be or not to be?" speech was nothing like I had expected.
The set that Hamlet was played on was a very simple; on its edges it had two kind of curtanoffed closet looking things. In the back of it there were 2 huge doors, which opened in the middle of the stage. On stage right there was a raised platform about 5-6feet off of the floor with concrete steps going up to it.
What can we say about Hamlet that has not being said before? Almost nothing and we do not consider ourselves worthy of even commenting on such an incredible play. What we can say for sure is that its tragic tones still serve as a referent for the modern theater. The play has approximately 4,000 lines, and since the story is tightly knit, it is hard to choose parts to cull, as it has to be done carefully in order to the play keep its original meaning. In the same way, it will depend on which format we are planning on presenting the play, if it will be presented at a theater, we might keep closer to the original. On the other hand, if the cuts would have to be done for a movie, we would have to cull it severely, so it fits the timeframe.
During class we have reviewed many versions of the play Hamlet. The two movie versions that I chose to compare on the play Hamlet are the David Tennant version and the Kenneth Branagh version. I chose these two versions because these were the two that most interested me. I believe that some scenes from each movie were better than the other, but overall I liked these two versions just as equally. The three main scenes that stood out to me that I will be comparing are ‘Ophelia’s Mad Scene’, the ‘Hamlet Kills Polonius’ scene, and Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ scene.
Hamlet, performed by the Yohangza Theatre Company of Korea and directed by Jung-ung Yang, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that integrates the Korean Shamanist rituals with the original storyline and text. Performed in Korean and featuring an all Korean cast, the play made its debut in 2009 at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul. The play was layer also performed at the at the 2010 Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide, the 2011 Shakespeare-Festival Neuss in Germany, and at the Peacock Theatre in London in 2014 (Yung). It is clear that many liberties are taken in this adaptation of Hamlet; therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of the overall production based on the accuracy of the play in relation to the original text will be unfruitful. Instead,
Hamlet, a tragedy by William Shakespeare shows a lot of adaptations to movies. Hamlet by Mel Gibson (1990) and Kenneth Branagh (1996) interpret and portray the play by Shakespeare in different ways. The two film versions of Act IV of Hamlet have many differences and similarities. Kenneth Branagh’s version of Hamlet is seen covering most of the original text of Shakespeare’s play of Hamlet unlike the Mel Gibson version which omits many scenes and dialogues. The film version of Hamlet featuring Kenneth Branagh is a more successful production of Shakespeare’s play of Act IV according to its setting, editing choices and character portrayal.
Vowing revenge upon his Uncle/Dad, Hamlet begins to mentally falter and eventually, is in. such a wild rage that he accidentally kills Polonious believing him to be his father. Hilarity ensues. & nbsp; Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest, commits suicide/dies (that's up). for debate elsewhere) after going slightly mad at the impact of her.
The first difference is in the way the play and the movie begins. The play starts out with guards standing guard at the castle with Horatio, Hamlet?s friend. The guards and Horatio are waiting for the ghost of Old Hamlet to arrive so they can find out why he is there. The ghost does arrive twice but does not speak. The scene ends with the guards and Horatio discussing that they should get Hamlet to try to speak to the ghost. Hamlet the movie starts out differently. It starts out with the funeral for King Hamlet with Gertrude standing beside the coffin. Hamlet sprinkles dust over his father?s dead body. The coffin is then covered and Claudius, Old Hamlet?s brother, places his sword over the coffin and Gertrude cries.
Hamlet is a classic play that has been performed, filmed, and read millions of times since its birth four hundred and fifteen years ago. These portrayals vary from the basic performances of Shakespeare’s time to high-tech revivals that remodel Claudius’ seizure of the throne as a sly boardroom takeover of a prospering tech-company. Each of these adaptations takes artistic liberties, a collaboration or conspiracy among director, screenwriter, and cinematographer, which changes not only the details but also the era and locale. Both Branagh and Almereyda’s versions retained the original name, and some of the dialogue, yet couldn’t be more opposite in their portrayal of “The Tragedy of Hamlet”. Each depiction has quirks that modify Shakespeare
Much of the dramatic action of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet is within the head of the main character, Hamlet. His wordplay represents the amazing, contradictory, unsettled, mocking, nature of his mind, as it is torn by disappointment and positive love, as Hamlet seeks both acceptance and punishment, action and stillness, and wishes for consummation and annihilation. He can be abruptly silent or vicious; he is capable of wild laughter and tears, and also polite badinage.
...amining the masterpiece that is Hamlet, it becomes clear that Shakespeare was a successful playwright because he understood his audience and knew how to connect with them through his work. Even four hundred years after Shakespeare, this is still undeniably a crucial quality in anyone who is required to interact with an audience. Hence, much can be learned from Hamlet and from Shakespeare’s other works of art; the context of his plays may no longer resonate in today’s world, but the methods he used to engage and target the audience are timeless guidelines.
..., Kean made no such revolutionary changes. He is credited with being the first to break from the psychological consistency the Hamlet character always seems to have. Kean’s Hamlet reacted calmly, with affection and eagerness upon seeing his father’s ghost. Also, Kean is the first to depict Hamlet as treating Ophelia lovingly, rather than somewhat brutally. Ophelia was portrayed as a significant character in this production, which was a first. In later productions, Ophelia’s character gains incredibly prominence, as women’s rights progress.
'Hamlet' is a challenging play which has been produced many times in many different ways. The ideal 'Hamlet' would be one which combines the old with the new and illustrates the depth and feelings of hamlet through the set whilst creating the characters as the reader sees them whilst reading the script. Everyone sees the ideal 'Hamlet' differently and it would probably be impossible to create one which everyone would love, but to satisfy most I would create all that I have mentioned and create my 'Hamlet' from modern productions and ideas from the text.
Hamlet, performed by the Yohangza Theatre Company of Korea and directed by Jung-ung Yang, is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that integrates Korean Shamanist rituals with the original storyline and text. Performed in Korean and featuring an all Korean cast, the play made its debut in 2009 at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul. The play was later also performed at the at the 2010 Oz Asia Festival in Adelaide, the 2011 Shakespeare-Festival Neuss in Germany, and at the Peacock Theatre in London in 2014 (Yung). It is clear that many liberties are taken in this adaptation of Hamlet; therefore, evaluating the effectiveness of the overall production based on the accuracy of the
Hamlet makes use of the idea of theatrical performance through characters presenting themselves falsely to others – from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on Hamlet to gain favor with the King, to Hamlet himself playing the part of a madman – and through the play within the play, The Mousetrap. This essay will discuss the ways in which Hamlet explores the idea of theatrical performance, ‘acting’, through analysis of the characters and the ‘roles’ they adopt, specifically that of Hamlet and Claudius. The idea, or the theme of theatrical performance is not an uncommon literary element of Shakespearean works, the most famous of which to encompass this idea being As You Like It. This essay will also briefly explore the ways in which Hamlet reminds its audience of the stark difference between daily life and dramatization of life in the theatre.
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...