JP NAGAR: “Frailty, thy name is woman,” cries Hamlet in his first soliloquy when he confronts his mother Gertrude on her infidelity. The audience at Ranga Shankara stirs and responds for the first time at the sound of those famous words. The Globe Theatre, who are on their two-year tour of the world covering 205 countries (India being the 149th), were in Bengaluru this last weekend to give a rousing performance of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, with song, dance and a good dose of drama.
With not a sign of road-weariness on their faces, the 12-member cast of Hamlet put on three spectacular performances for the Bengaluru crowd over Saturday and Sunday. Under the supervision of Dominic Dromogoole, who is the artistic director at Globe Theatre, Hamlet comes to life in what is comparatively a brisk two-and-a-half-hour sitting, excluding the 15-minute intermission.
With a stripped-down stage that vaguely resembled a tent, littered by wooden planks and trunks that worked as makeshift surfaces and building blocks, the dozen actors used the space at Ranga Shankara to good effect. Dromogoole used a hefty amount of broad comedy to lighten what is already a pretty disturbing study of the human psyche. The house lights were kept on through the play to replicate the spirit of the original outdoor Globe Theatre in London, built in 1599.
Mathew Romain, who plays Hamlet, was the life of the play. Whether it was the first meeting with his father’s ghost, his camaraderie with Horatio, his slow descent into uncertain madness, or his on-and-off love affair with fair Ophelia, Romain had the audience captivated.
The iconic play-within-a-play was done ingeniously well.
Using just a simple red curtain, the cast managed to show us the play that was meant to rouse Claudius’ guilty conscience into accepting his hand in his brother’s murder, and at the same time reveal Claudius and Gertrude’s reactions to the said play.
The Shakespearean lines are handled with a light touch. The iconic “To be or not to be...” monologue was delivered almost flippantly, as Mathew Romain’s Hamlet ran on to the stage,
but somehow the impact was not lost in that delivery. Polonius, a bumbling, restless character in this rendition of Hamlet, brings forth the most laughs. Laertes, the gentle and kind brother to Ophelia, also was a character to watch out for.
Ophelia, performed by Amanda Wilkin, is resplendent in her tragic descent into madness. As she sings her final tune, half-crazed by grief over her father’s death and by Hamlet’s cruel disregard for her, the audience burst into applause. Even Hamlet’s pathos sometimes paled next to her complex portrayal of the doomed heroine.
The group will now travel to Bhutan.