jdchamlet

Positive:


 * 1)  One thing that I really enjoyed about the play was the lighting. During certain scenes, the lights would light up the floor with a green pattern that made it appear that they were in the forest, which gave a visual aid to the setting of the individual scenes. The lighting was also very effective at hiding characters that were on stage, but not involved in the action, as well as following the central characters of the scene while they are moving.
 * 2)  The use of the ladder to carry Hamlet across the stage was also very effective even though the extras were slightly visible pushing it across the stage. It gave the illusion of him gliding across the stage, making him a more majestic character in these scenes. It made him speeches more powerful, and helped me to pay closer attention to the words he said.
 * 3)  I also enjoyed the loud, booming voice of the ghost of Hamlet’s father. His words were slightly distorted, but still clearly audible. This gave a much more supernatural feel to his words, and went along with the ideas of popular culture of how a spirit sounds when it talks. This allowed the audience to more easily suspend their beliefs in reality and believe that this phantasmal figure is actually the ghost of Hamlet’s father.
 * 4)  The costume of the ghost of Hamlet’s father was also very well done. His green and sparkling costume gave him the appearance of a phantom, and his face was not visible (at least from my seat, maybe it was from other places). His slow trot also added to the ghostly characteristics that he possessed.
 * 5)  I also enjoyed the little “one minute Hamlet” performance at the beginning of the play. For audience members who were not familiar with the play, it provided a brief background of the play. It was also very comedic which allowed the audience members to relax and allow the play to start of a lighthearted note.

Negative:
 * 1)  The first problem that I had with the play was the set contrasted with the dialogue. It seemed too modern for a Shakespeare play, and it seemed to clash with the original ideas of the play. The idea of the play happening in a more modern time was interesting, but the use of the old English dialogue and even the general events occurring seemed to clash with the set and make it seem a bit farfetched.
 * 2)  The modern costumes also clashed with the dialogue. Shakespeare is public domain, so cuts and other changes are free to be made. If the modern costumes and modern set were used, it would have been more beneficial in my opinion to change all of the old English words to more modern words, making the modern set more believable. This would have also made the play easier to follow.
 * 3)  At some times, the actor’s accents were difficult to understand. The old English dialogue only added to my confusion at some points. Already knowing the story, this was not a very big deal for me, but it could have posed a problem for other audience members. However, these elements did add to the original Shakespearean feel of the play. Even if they were distracting at times, they did add to the overall atmosphere of the play.
 * 4)  I didn’t like my seat in the theatre. My seat was farther towards the back, and so I felt far away from the action. It also made it more difficult to hear at times, which may have also contributed to my confusion at some parts of the play. The people to my side also kept pulling out their cell phones, which was also very distracting. My seat took away from the overall environment of the play, which deteriorated it slightly in my view.
 * 5)  I also didn’t like the size of the theatre. After viewing the three previous plays in the cellar theatre, the size of this theatre was intimidating and unexpected. This is no fault of the producers of the show, but for my personal experience, I felt much more detached than I would have in the cellar theatre where I was only feet from the action at all times, and as mentioned above, it made it more difficult to hear at some times. Overall, this was a good play, but there were a few minor details that took away from my experience.