'Hamlet' at the Wilma (second review)

This show has a clear directorial vision from the lighting (Yi Zhao), to the electronic music (Alex Games and Emma Violet), the costumes (Vasilija Zivanic), the set (Matt Saunders) with walls covered with graffiti by street artist Cera, and the stylized movements (based on Jean-René Toussaint’s Stemwork workshops). The result is stunning and confusing, and you know this is not your high school Hamlet.

And then there is Hamlet, the character, the grieving, philosophic prince of Denmark. Played by Zainab Jah, who was powerful in last year’s The Convert, this Hamlet is more troubled young man than desolate prince. Jah’s small stature and hunched posture diminished her presence. It probably wasn’t the intention of the director, but the combination of Jah’s physicality and the graffiti on the walls made Hamlet come across like an angry punk teenager. Oddly, those were some of the most successful moments.

Gender not a question

The question of gender was never a factor here: Jah succeeded in inhabiting the role, although scenes between Hamlet and Ophelia (Sarah Gliko) had an odd chemistry. This might be, Jah suggests, because she has played both roles. It might be her air of youthfulness — as someone not ready for a real relationship, any sexual tension between the characters was impossible. The way Gliko played Ophelia didn’t help — clinging to the arm of her father or brother while moving in circles, she had no chance to be a living, breathing person, but merely a plot device.

The sexual tension between Gertrude (Krista Apple-Hodge) and Claudius (Steven Rishard), however, came across clearly and made sense of Hamlet’s anger. But the militant fascist costumes of the men seemed less about the disintegration of cities than the corruption of total power.

The other actors, many of whom will appear again as the same characters in the upcoming Wilma production of Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, played their parts well, using a naturalistic, rather than declamatory, style.

Polonius (Joe Guzmán), usually the buffoon, is here played as a concerned, if obtuse, father, so his death came across as more tragic than usual. Ed Swidey, in multiple roles, including the Player King, is always identifiable. His acting talents aside, his stature and dark beard do not allow him to blend chameleonlike from role to role, so he remains always himself.

Odd pop-culture echoes

There were moments that harked back to other shows as well. The Ghost of Hamlet’s father, with his mysterious sounds, seemed part Harry Potter’s Voldemort and part Darth Vader. Did Shakespeare write, “Hamlet, I am your father,” or did I just want him to? Ophelia reminded me of Alice in Wonderland and Gertrude of Wonder Woman’s Diana Prince.

The oddest thing, however, was the laughter. Shakespeare does create characters for comic relief — the grave digger, Polonius giving unwanted advice — but the audience seemed eager to turn this into a comedy and laughed at inappropriate moments.

Shakespeare always challenges us to find a way through his language to the meaning of his stories. Whatever its merits or flaws, this production of Hamlet is worth seeing and debating.

For Robert Zaller's review, click here.