I enjoyed Long Beach Shakespeare Company's adaptation of Hamlet more than I initially expected. Despite the fact that one major soliloquy was omitted and some of the acting was nightmarish (case in point: Gertrude), the play was witty, humorous, and well-produced. The amateur, low-budget setting added to its charm.
One scene in particular stood out to me. Laertes is about to leave to France; his dear sister Ophelia accompanies him and they are both later joined by their father Polonius. What bothered me was the interaction and the tone of speech between the characters. When reading the play, I read Laertes as a young man who respects his father, taking his advice to heart. In the Long Beach play, however, the actor portrays Laertes as an exasperated son rolling his eyes at his father's words and attempting multiple times to get away. I realize that this might be how the director interpreted the scene, but I don't think Laertes and Ophelia are kids who think they're too cool for their father. In addition, their reaction to Polonius giving advice to Laertes makes no sense when you observe how devastated they both were by their father's death. Polonius's advice to Laertes may not be the most moral advice, but it comes from the fatherly love and concern. In an attempt to be funny, the actors played inaccurate roles of Laertes and Ophelia. Something well-done, on the other hand, was how Laertes and Ophelia interacted with each other without their father. Laertes was just the right amount of playful and overprotective. Ophelia had the right expressions and reactions and delivered her lines very well. You could tell that they cared for each other, despite their differences. The way their demeanor changed when Polonius came in, however, completely ruined the warmth that they created before. I think that they tried too hard to be humorous, and that deviated the actors from staying true to the script.
The scene was mildly amusing, and it was easily relatable to a modern audience like myself, but it was overdone, just like the rest of the play. While I enjoyed myself, the play in general was over the top.
I agree that they tried a little too hard to amuse with this scene. However, in defense of the director, I've always found Polonius too long-winded and annoying. I've always interpreted the scene so that Laertes does start to become a little exasperated. I mean...with Polonius, how don't you have that reaction?
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you talk about the humorous aspects of the play (calling it "witty" and "humorous"), since it's meant to be understood as a tragedy. I agree that many of the scenes were a bit melodramatic and funny when they probably weren't supposed to be, and this ultimately decreased the emotional impact on the audience.
ReplyDeleteIn my initial interpretation of this scene (from the reading), I thought it was odd that Laertes is furious at Polonius and Ophelia's deaths but there is never much indication that they were close in the first place. I think that the play's interpreted dynamic between Laertes and Ophelia was brilliant because it gives him true motive as he later serves as Hamlet's antagonist. Contrastingly, I think that they tried to create a similar dynamic between Laertes and Polonius but failed.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the play, but had the same reaction as Jordan... Laertes's relationship with Polonius is not particularly well established. But then again, I think that mirror's Hamlet's relationship with his father, and the lack of establishment therof, since, after all, he is a foil for Hamlet. Hamlet's relationship with his father isn't established at all, except by hearsay from... Hamlet. We only ever see the Ghost as a figure that tells him to do things, really.
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