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Volume 72, Issue 73,
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Life & Arts 'Hamlet' puts on militant face Tragedy loses pensive feel, opting for stylized violence by MONICA GRANGER
The Nova Arts Project's modernized rendition of Shakespeare's Hamlet is a thriller that will excite even the most jaded audiences. Shakespeare's tragedy is set in Denmark, but director Brian Byrnes' adaptation could be set in any heavily militarized dictatorship grappling with issues of legitimate succession. Audience members receive the first shock before the play even starts as they experience the discomfort and primal adrenaline surge of conducting normal theater business with SWAT troops and riot police standing ready. Stockpiles of electric shock are present in Byrnes' two-act adaptation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy -- perfect for the short attention spans of the Internet generation. Nova Arts Project is a Houston-based "performing arts organization that seeks to recreate classics and inspire new works in a fearlessly theatrical way." It delivers Hamlet as promised -- bitingly straight up (you may want to bring a designated driver). The play begins with Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, followed quickly by a film sequence of Byrnes' and the cast's own creation showing a jaw clenching and a grisly take on the murder of Hamlet the elder. The intimacy of UH's Jose Quintero Lab Theatre elevates the ensuing chaos as state military forces swoop through the audience, presumably looking for the king's murderer. Things calm down as the plot is developed, but the story remains sadly ancillary to the fleet-footed violence on stage. The dead King Hamlet is more of a psychotic specter than righteous avenger when he wrests eerie control of the players' bodies and speech at unexpected times. Hamlet, played by a vigorous Aaron White, is less sullenly introspective and more like a punk rock hero. Those who enjoy psychoanalysis with their Shakespeare will be disappointed: This Hamlet comes as is and the ghost neatly tidies any would-be emotional tension via voodoo manipulation. Hamlet's unlucky love interest Ophelia receives the best recasting by Byrnes, and the audience is finally privy to the tense moments -- many of which are spent strapped to a medical gurney -- immediately prior to her suicide. Annie Donley plays a poignant crazy woman. Jenni Rebecca Stephenson reveals a quietly devious Gertrude still hell-bent on mariticide and performing both murder and treasonous remarriage with a graphic act worthy of Saw and sure to make audiences squirm. Sean Judge misses his potential as Gertrude's murderously scheming and power-hungry new husband Claudius, coming across more cold-hearted tycoon than lethal tyrant. Noe Mendoza III and Michael Heathcote play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, respectively, as dark as their peers' characters. Do not bother looking for comic relief in these guys. The only strong dose of humor found in Byrnes' version comes during the play within a play. Here, Hamlet is buoyantly, cunningly happy with a chirpy silver whistle and superbly implements his plot to entrap the king in wrongdoing. Even this humor is tainted and dark, though, as the players are prisoners of the state garbed in scrubs and pitifully bound, shackled and hoodwinked. The audience can only wonder what offense they committed against the apparently hyper-caffeinated warriors posturing and pounding the stage. Furthermore, the audience can wonder why the prisoners are in surgical scrubs rather than straightjackets or striped jumpers. Do not forget to applaud loudly -- no fewer than 14 current UH students and alumni grace the stage for this driving production. And keep in mind -- Nova Arts Project's Hamlet is not suitable for children. Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu |
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