Approaching Hamlet

A recent trip to a local library provided another encounter with Hamlet.  The library was unloading its supply of obsolete VHS tapes in order to reclaim storage space.  The "sale" (they were free) allowed me to acquire a copy of a 1975 work entitled "Shakespeare and His Stage:  Approaches to Hamlet."

The program discusses different ways that an actor can approach the role of Hamlet.  The role, as described by narrator John Gielgud, is "the peak of every actor's ambition if he wishes to be remembered by posterity."  The memorable performances of Nicol Williamson, John Barrymore, Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud are juxtaposed against the developing performance of Stephen Tate.  In addition, the program includes numerous views of Shakespearean sites in the author's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Early in the program we see Stephen Tate working through the nunnery scene.  Later, we hear his voice-over of the "rogue and peasant slave" soliloquy.  That is followed by Nicol Williamson's performance of the same soliloquy.  Williamson's Hamlet is described by Gielgud as "deeply internalized...a full psychological rendering."  Interestingly, Tate and Williamson's performances differ in the text that is used.  While Tate's Hamlet refers to himself as a "stallion," Williamson's is a "scullion."  This is an example of the effect that a director and a particular translation can have on the performance.

John Barrymore's Hamlet is shown during the "Now might I do it" soliloquy.  As Gielgud comments, Barrymore's performance displayed the "exaggeration of the silent screen" (or is that silent scream?), although the clip that we are shown is a screen test that does include the audio.

The greatest degree of comparison is reserved for the greatest soliloquy.  We see Tate working on the "To be or not to be" soliloquy with his director.  We can forgive him for flubbing the words as he is still learning the part.  That scene is followed by a fully realized voice-over of Tate's performance.  Next, John Gielgud delivers a straightforward stage reading of the speech.  Finally, Laurence Olivier's film version of the soliloquy is shown, complete with shots of our protagonist atop a height watching waves crashing into rocks.  The point is not to decide which is better, but rather to show how Shakespeare's words can lend themselves to various approaches.

At the conclusion of the program, John Gielgud describes the role of any actor, not just one stepping into the role of Hamlet.  Acting represents a "gesture of sacrifice."  The actor's job is to create another life before the audience, and that creation requires the sacrifice of the actor to the character.  The program shows us four gentlemen who have made that sacrifice memorable, with a newcomer to the ranks hoping to join them.