Hamlet at University Revisited

Following my post of 14 October 2013, I was able to borrow a video copy of the 2003 production of Hamlet at the University of Rochester.  (Thank you Nigel!)  After an encore presentation, I learned that my memory did not betray me in this instance.  The performance was every bit as good as I recalled it being.  Now that I have seen it anew, I can be a bit more descriptive.

The cast was a diverse one.  Narada Campbell, as Claudius, was reminiscent of a young Live and Let Die-era Yaphet Kotto.  Polonius was a very young version of the character, not the grey and wrinkly portrayal that is typical.  Ophelia was stunningly emotional, and her screaming fit over the death of her father leads to a (much needed) injection of sedative.  The players were mostly a female group, with one young boy to round out the company.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were cast as perky, pigtailed co-eds.  Noshir Dalal as Hamlet was no less remarkable in a repeat viewing, although I will say he is a very angry and emotional Hamlet.

The wardrobe is present day, with denim, suits, cargo pants and even some flannel on the gravediggers.  It was not out of place; in fact it worked quite well.

The armoire was the major set piece, and it did get plenty of use.  The drawers were storage spaces for clothing, tools and dead bodies.  One even doubled as a stage for the dumb show (performed with dolls) preceding The Mousetrap.  As mentioned previously, the wardrobe portion was indeed a bedroom during The Mousetrap and a brightly lit altarpiece during Claudius' soliloquy.  It also served as an initial entry point for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and a dressing room for a towel-clad Horatio.  While Gertrude was recounting the drowning of Ophelia, the wardrobe opened to provide a visual of the scene to match Gertrude's narration.  In the final scene, Fortinbras arrived through it, and Hamlet's body and Horatio are shut into it.  The armoire remains the most ingenious piece of staging I have seen.

The text, while edited to fit into the time slot, did not display any of the obvious cuts that other productions have shown.  It was a full production with very subtle omissions.  (Honestly, I could not spot anything that was glaringly missing.)  That said, there are plenty of updates for a modern setting.  In a bit of foreshadowing, Laertes carries his fencing foils with him to France.  (His satchel full of condoms is one additional piece of luggage.)  Personal music devices, a laptop and cell phones all appear.  In fact, the cell phone's inadvertent ring becomes the plot device that betrays Polonius and Claudius hiding behind the arras during the "nunnery" scene.  In one major change, Hamlet's sword is replaced with a gun, which ultimately becomes the tool used to dispatch Polonius.  Hamlet's letters to a dressing (and momentarily bare) Horatio and to Claudius arrive via UPS.  The climactic sword fight remains, although it is adapted as a fencing duel.

Now that I've had the opportunity to see this production twice I can put it to rest, its place secure in the upper reaches of my Hamlet canon.