The stage set was very rudimentary, with multiple levels and an area beneath the stage floor to serve as Ophelia's grave. (Amusingly, she stayed there during the duel and popped out for the curtain call.) The painting of the set was reminiscent of a high school musical, though. Furniture was minimal; in fact, the chamber scene between Hamlet and Gertrude had none at all. The costumes were Medieval period, aside from modern footwear and (sometimes wrinkled) chinos. Claudius spent the evening not in a crown but rather in a jeweled headband, which reminded me of Wonder Woman's head-wear. The Ghost wore white make-up to give the appearance of a pale complexion. When he removed his helmet, however, some of the make-up went with it, leaving his natural skin tone apparent.
The acting was emotive and overdone. I did not find any of the actors believable in the roles. The dialogue was stiff and unnatural, and the bulk of the lines were delivered while yelling. Undoubtedly this was an attempt to project due to the lack of external amplification, but it removed a sense of natural conversation among the actors. Hamlet was a combination of Jim Parsons' Dr. Sheldon Cooper (from TV's The Big Bang Theory) and Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura with overactive salivary glands. The attempt to portray Hamlet's insanity was far beyond the pale. By the end of the play I was waiting for the duel so that the rest would be silence. The best acted parts were those of Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, although the latter two actors spent much of their non-speaking scenes upstage whispering between themselves. It may have been an attempt to play up the conniving, spying aspect of their characters, but it became annoying. Their entrance to the play was marked by coin flipping, an inside reference to Tom Stoppard's play, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.
The script was edited to fit in a running time of approximately 2.5 hours, a function of the decreasing amount of sunlight and the lack of artificial lighting. While this is a typical length, the editing was atypically sloppy. Gone were Polonius' instructions regarding spying on Laertes, "outward limbs and flourishes," beautified being a "vile phrase," most of Hamlet's instructions to the players, the dumb show, references to "herb of grace o' Sundays," the gallows maker and bungholes. For all that was excised, however, the role of Fortinbras was left in the play. As a result, the "How all occasions" soliloquy, the one most easily removed, remained. It added nothing to the action and only made the play drag.
One major change was the movement of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy. The director justified this in the playbill, writing that the speech "doesn't grow out of any specific dramatic circumstances in the play" and is a "movable set piece." Hamlet thrice delivered the line "except my life" to Polonius and then, while supine on the stage, delivered the "To be" soliloquy. It ended with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern entering to tell Hamlet about the arrival of the players. The "rogue and peasant slave" soliloquy followed. The action moved to Claudius, Gertrude, et al, discussing the players. Ophelia was left alone on stage, Hamlet entered and the play moved into the nunnery scene. For such a "movable set piece," the flow of action in this section of the play was largely disrupted.
The eventual arrival of the duel scene signaled that the evening was drawing to a close. The role of Osric was not at all the fey, effeminate portrayal that is typical, and there was no discussion of the warmth of the castle or his hat. In fact, he wore no hat at all. The duel involved both rapier and dagger. In a new twist, Laertes' dagger was the instrument envenomed. Oddly, it was that weapon that fatally wounded Hamlet, Laertes and Claudius. Hamlet's death was awkward, but all things considered, that was neither unsurprising nor unwelcome. As one last example of the sloppy editing, the play ended seemingly mid-line. Fortinbras commented that the sight of bodies "shows much amiss," and then the cast members still standing took a bow. Did the actor forget the concluding line "Go, bid the soldiers shoot." or was its omission a directorial decision?
While I was awaiting the start of the play, I overheard a discussion between two audience members. One asked what the story of Hamlet is about, and the other commented that she had never read it. It is a shame that their first exposure to Shakespeare's masterpiece was this rather ham-handed attempt. Hopefully they have a future opportunity to see it done much more respectably.
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