Educating Hamlet

A confluence of chance occurrences led me to the Richmond Triangle Theatre on a cold, rainy Tuesday night in April.  The reason:  Wittenberg, a play written by David Davalos and presented by the Henley Street Theater and Richmond Shakespeare.  The work brings together three characters:  professors Dr. John Faustus and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther, and an undergraduate student and Prince of Denmark, Hamlet.  It is a beautifully constructed "What if?".  What if all three characters knew each other?  What if Hamlet were taught by Faustus and Luther?

Before the play opened, we were treated to an assortment of topical music.  Included were Losing My Religion by REM, Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi, One of Us by Joan Osborne and the Leonard Cohen classic, Hallelujah.  That set the tone for what was to follow.  During the play itself, three other songs were performed by Dr. Faustus--The Who's The Seeker (channeling a previous post about Pete Townshend on this blog), Robert Palmer's Bad Case of Loving You and Doris Day's Que Sera, Sera.

The set was minimal and yet very workable.  There were a couple of desks, one of which became Dr. Faustus's office (noted as Room 2B).  On his desk sat a skull.  On shelves next to his desk were medicines, including coffee and something labeled with a marijuana leaf.  A lectern was moved around stage to suit Rev. Luther's need's.  A table was brought in for a pub scene, and a grave appeared from below a portion of the stage for a cemetery scene.

I have no intention of spoiling the plot here.  In summary, Faustus and Luther serve as teachers to Hamlet, each vying to have the lad follow the particular teacher's path.  For Faustus, it is a very philosophical bent.  For Luther, it is a decidedly religious one.  Each of the teachers struggles with his own discipline, though.  Faustus seems rather self-assured, although his desire for a relationship with his girlfriend leads to difficulties.  Luther's primary battle is with John Tetzel and the Catholic Church over the issue of indulgences.  His secondary battle is with his insides, seriously constipated.  (As Faustus comments, Luther is indeed "full of shit.")  Hamlet, still undecided on a college major, struggles with his bad dreams and with trying to find a path in life.  By the end of the play, each of the three has chosen--one taking a sabbatical, one breaking with the Church, and one heading home to assume the throne.  Opto ergo sum.

One joy of this play was the foreshadowing of what is to come in Shakespeare's tragedy.  Numerous one-liners reference Hamlet, leading the audience to see whence Hamlet's behaviors come--Faustus or Luther.  Some of the lines that appear are noted below.

• A thing of nothing (Hamlet)
• Time is out of joint (Faustus)
• More things in Heaven and on Earth than are dreamt of in your theology (Faustus to Luther)
• Being and not being; those are the questions (Faustus)
• Hoist on one's petard (Hamlet)
• Providence in the fall of a sparrow (Luther)
• Readiness is all (Faustus)
• Divinity that shapes our ends (Luther)
• Something rotten in the papal states (Hamlet)

Three references deserve special recognition.  In one scene, Faustus gives Hamlet a leaflet entitled Miching Malicho.  In it is a story entitled, "The Murder of Gonzago," which Faustus has heard is being turned into a play.  The second act opens with Hamlet engaged in a tennis match with a student whose first two names are Laertes and Corambus.  The match is punctuated with palpable hits, touches and very John McEnroe-esque outbursts from Laertes.  Hamlet wins, and it noted that he plays very well on grass (pun intended).  The third noteworthy scene is a game of Word Association between Hamlet and Faustus.  It is allusion upon allusion, and it ends with Faustus's pronouncement of it as "Words, words, words."

The play included much discussion on the nature of religion.  In that respect, it is a very thought-heavy play.  Faustus refers to church as "where they keep the sanctimony," which Luther corrects as sanctity.  Luther questions his own belief:  "Do I believe the Church?  What if it isn't true?"  The arguments are thought-provoking:  philosophy vs. religion, action vs. faith, faith vs. doubt.  It's hard not to be affected...and not to find oneself choosing a side.

This was a supremely enjoyable night of theatre.  Well acted and well directed, it was terrific both in its own right and as another addition to the Hamlet canon.  The print version of the play is already ordered and on its way to my bookshelf.  Thankfully, fate worked in the blogger's favor this time.