www.ophelia/hamlet.au
By PACT Youtheatre and University of NSW
Directed by Christopher Ryan
PACT Theatre
107 Railway Parade, Erskineville
Until August 29
Review by Brendan Doyle
The audience, perched on hard benches, sits facing each other across an empty space. Into this space comes a strange figure dressed in a rough cape and unearthly headdress, holding a staff. She imposes silence as she gazes into the distance. Joined by three other similar figures, they begin the opening scene of Hamlet, waiting for the ghost.
From here on, Shakespeare's text is left behind and the youthful cast of 15 women and three men give us a piece of performance theatre which, according to director Chris Ryan, "sits somewhere between the experience of dance and that of text-based theatre".
In one segment, performers come out, one by one, trying to convince us by their actions and words that "I am not Hamlet".
In another scene, all the performers sit on office chairs looking supremely bored while various actors recite bits of East German writer Heiner Muller's philosophical musings on Hamlet. Texts by Brecht, Marx, Patti Smith and others are used also as springboards for the actors' improvisations, with various degrees of success.
There's a very amusing scene where couples under umbrellas walk around pretentiously discussing the philosophical implications of Hamlet. In another segment, members of the audience are asked to comment on what they've seen so far, which produced a beautiful silence, eventually broken by a brave soul.
The show is the result of a six-month process, during which the group discussed the relevance of Hamlet today with regard to religion, sex, suicide and power. There was a lot of exploration of the body and the potential of physical theatre, and this is the major strength of the performance.
I couldn't help comparing this show with Sade/Marat, also directed by Chris Ryan for PACT a year ago. Both pieces were largely created by the performers, both drew heavily on literary and political texts. Sade/Marat was high-energy theatre that dragged the audience along on an exciting journey, challenging us to ask big questions about our society. It was built on the framework of the brilliant Peter Weiss play about the inmates of a mental asylum.
www.ophelia/hamlet.au is more laid back, less energetic and more loosely structured. It came across to me as a series of good ideas that come off with varying degrees of success. A problem with group-created theatre is that there can be a loss of focus and therefore a loss of energy. I felt that the performers had more fun devising the piece than I had watching it.
This genuinely intriguing piece makes good use of a minimal set, lighting and soundtrack to create a disturbing atmosphere, and the costumes are imaginative. The physical work is impressive, and it all leaves you with unanswered questions about some of the basic myths that drive our society. Hamlet will never be the same again.