Hamlet-Production-Guide.Pdf

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Hamlet-Production-Guide.Pdf ASOLO REP EDUCATION & OUTREACH PRODUCTION GUIDE 2016 Tour PRODUCTION GUIDE By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ASOLO REP Adapted and Directed by JUSTIN LUCERO EDUCATION & OUTREACH TOURING SEPTEMBER 27 - NOVEMBER 22 ASOLO REP LEADERSHIP TABLE OF CONTENTS Producing Artistic Director WHAT TO EXPECT.......................................................................................1 MICHAEL DONALD EDWARDS WHO CAN YOU TRUST?..........................................................................2 Managing Director LINDA DIGABRIELE PEOPLE AND PLOT................................................................................3 FSU/Asolo Conservatory Director, ADAPTIONS OF SHAKESPEARE....................................................................5 Associate Director of Asolo Rep GREG LEAMING FROM THE DIRECTOR.................................................................................6 SHAPING THIS TEXT...................................................................................7 THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET CREATIVE TEAM FACT IN THE FICTION..................................................................................9 Director WHAT MAKES A GHOST?.........................................................................10 JUSTIN LUCERO UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES......................................................................11 Costume Design BECKI STAFFORD Properties Design MARLÈNE WHITNEY WHAT TO EXPECT Sound Design MATTHEW PARKER You will see one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies shortened into a 45-minute Fight Choreography version created uniquely for Florida students, and performed for the very first time this fall. DAN GRANKE Dramaturg The performers are actors in the third and final year of their Masters of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) LAURYN E. SASSO degree at the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. After The Tragedy of Hamlet, each Stage Managers of these actors will perform in additional plays at Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, FL KELLY A. BORGIA until their graduation in 2017. DAYNE SUNDMAN Voice and Dialect Coach This production is fully rehearsed and choreographed, but because it travels to one or PATRICIA DELOREY two locations each school day, it cannot rely on complex scenery or lighting. In addition to the actors’ performances, The Tragedy of Hamlet will use costume design, sound design ASOLO REP EDUCATION (including music), and simple prop elements. In this way our performance is not so different from the theatre of Shakespeare’s time: & OUTREACH STAFF Education & Outreach Director “Torches, candles, or other visual cues could identify the time as ‘night,’ as could KATHRYN MORONEY costumes (like ‘nightgowns’)… Women were played by boys, kings by commoners; Education & Outreach Specialist night scenes, staged in the middle of the afternoon, were created by language.” RIA COOPER Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare After All Education & Outreach Apprentice ELIZABETH GUILBERT Need a digital copy of this guide? asolorep.org/education/resources ASK AN ACTOR Most performances are followed by a Video webisodes will be created question and answer session with the cast. during the rehearsal process and We encourage you to discuss what you would like to ask the tour; email [email protected] to actors, including questions about the play, how they interpret be notified when a new webisode their characters, or their experience rehearsing and performing is available. These will also be Shakespeare’s work. Ideas are included throughout this guide posted online. to spark your curiosity…. 1 WHO CAN YOU TRUST? An Introduction Whether you know Hamlet very well, or not at all, we invite you to begin to explore the play with All excerpts throughout us this fall by taking a look at a brief passage from when we first meet Hamlet. this guide are taken from the adapted script Hamlet’s mother asks why he seems to be still so affected by his father’s recent death. He answers: as of 9/16/2016. Seems, madam! Nay, it is: I know not: ‘seems.’ ‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, Try reading the Nor customary suits of solemn black quotations aloud; That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, Shakespeare’s plays For they are actions that a man might play; were meant to be But I have that within which passeth show; spoken and heard. These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (Act 1, Sc.2) Compare Hamlet’s This is a young man who sees and feels keenly: a poet and philosophy student whose description words to another of his inner struggles makes this play one of the world’s most famous works of literature. Here Shakespearean he argues the important difference between the behavior others see, and the real truth carried character’s “within.” For Hamlet, the truth of his deep grief and loss is real, more significant than dressing expression of grief. in black. Anyone can dress in mourning, regardless of the state of their heart underneath. Can you name another play where the In The Tragedy of Hamlet the difference between appearance and and truth, between who can difference between be trusted and who cannot, leads to literal questions of life or death. Can Hamlet trust his appearance and truth family? Can he trust his friends? Can he trust a ghost that looks like his dead father? Can he is important? trust his girlfriend? Can he trust himself? What is at stake if he judges wrong? Our own lives, thankfully, are less likely to end in poisoning or duels than Shakespeare’s tragedies. Still, isn’t the pressure to make important decisions without having enough information a familiar Have you been around stress? How often have you worried about making a mistake in the way you behaved toward people who seemed someone, how you dealt with your family, or took a step toward your future? And how often must to act differently than they really feel? How you take a deep breath and make a choice, even though you can’t know for certain if we’re doing do you decide who to the right thing? trust in your own life? This may be one reason why Hamlet’s struggle, in which he feels sure of “that within” but What was the last unsure of the world around him, still speaks to artists and audiences today. Perhaps the most big decision you famous advice in the play: made? Did you have all the information POLONIUS you needed? Do you This above all: to thine own self be true, decide with your head And it must follow, as the night the day, or your heart? Thou canst not then be false to any man. (Act 1, Sc.3) is spoken by a character who can’t resist the opportunity to interfere and spy on others, and who encourages his daughter to behave contrary to her own feelings. People are complicated, Shakespeare reminds us, and often their words don’t match their actions. ASK AN ACTOR Does your character act rationally or How will Hamlet take action when he thinks emotionally? he should, but still feels wrong? When he is disappointed and betrayed by so many people How do you learn from the play to make a around him? How can he – and we – gather decision like this about your character? the courage to keep moving forward? 2 PEOPLE AND PLOT Use this synopsis to create a character map. This guide presents an introduction to the plot elements, characters, themes, and production concepts included in director Justin Lucero’s 2016 adaptation. If you are reading the play, add the additional characters who do Additional adjustments to the sequence of events and specific lines quoted in these pages not appear in this may be made during the rehearsal process, after the printing of this guide. Every effort has adaptation. been made to accurately reflect the performance you will see. A complete plot summary of Shakespeare’s original, un-edited text can be found: www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/html/ham.html Two female roles in this adaptation (Horatio and King Hamlet died recently, but a ghostly figure resembling Rosenstern) were him appears “in the dead vast and middle of the night.” originally played as The GHOST is silent, but HORATIO believes it may speak men. Why might the to the dead king’s son, her good friend Prince HAMLET. director have chosen to add more women Queen GERTRUDE remarried “within a month” of her to the cast, and to put husband’s death, and Hamlet’s uncle, CLAUDIUS, is the them in these specific new king. Both King and Queen encourage Hamlet that roles? the time for mourning has passed, and that he must not seem so sad. Hamlet insists that he has every reason to be sad, and privately describes his disgust with their hasty marriage. Hamlet confesses to Horatio that he Questions of royal sees his late father in his mind, and Horatio describes succession can be the ghost that has been visiting the castle; they plan to complicated, and watch for it together. follow different patterns across time and geography. The LAERTES bids his family farewell before traveling abroad, warning his sister, OPHELIA, that while following article Hamlet has shown her some affection, he is a prince, and not free to choose whom he loves. does a nice job of She should guard herself from the “danger of desire.” Their father, POLONIUS, further instructs describing what Ophelia that she must be careful not to believe Hamlet’s words of love or spend too much time might be considered with him. “normal” for Hamlet’s Denmark, The Ghost returns again at night and speaks to Hamlet alone, explaining that his death was not Shakespeare’s accidental; his own brother Claudius poured poison in his ear. The Ghost asks Hamlet to revenge England, and modern his “foul and most unnatural murder.” Hamlet makes Horatio swear not to repeat what they have day monarchies: seen, and announces that he may find it useful to“put an antic disposition on,” or behave a bit grainofsandtheatre.com/ strangely in the days ahead. node/168 Hamlet’s increasingly odd behavior frightens Ophelia, but Polonius assures her that Hamlet must be “mad for thy love,” especially since she has followed his instructions to deny Hamlet her attention. Claudius and Gertrude persuade ASK AN ACTOR Hamlet’s old friend, ROSENSTERN, to spend time with Is there any character in this play with whom you have Hamlet in order to find out what is affecting him so strangely.
Recommended publications
  • Bibliography for the Study of Shakespeare on Film in Asia and Hollywood
    CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture ISSN 1481-4374 Purdue University Press ©Purdue University Volume 6 (2004) Issue 1 Article 13 Bibliography for the Study of Shakespeare on Film in Asia and Hollywood Lucian Ghita Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, and the Critical and Cultural Studies Commons Dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly and professional information, Purdue University Press selects, develops, and distributes quality resources in several key subject areas for which its parent university is famous, including business, technology, health, veterinary medicine, and other selected disciplines in the humanities and sciences. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, the peer-reviewed, full-text, and open-access learned journal in the humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of comparative literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies." Publications in the journal are indexed in the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (Chadwyck-Healey), the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Thomson Reuters ISI), the Humanities Index (Wilson), Humanities International Complete (EBSCO), the International Bibliography of the Modern Language Association of America, and Scopus (Elsevier). The journal is affiliated with the Purdue University Press monograph series of Books in Comparative Cultural Studies. Contact: <[email protected]> Recommended Citation Ghita, Lucian. "Bibliography for the Study of Shakespeare on Film in Asia and Hollywood." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 6.1 (2004): <https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.1216> The above text, published by Purdue University Press ©Purdue University, has been downloaded 2531 times as of 11/ 07/19.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tragedy of Hamlet
    THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET THE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET EDITED BY EDWARD DOWDEN n METHUEN AND CO. 36 ESSEX STREET: STRAND LONDON 1899 9 5 7 7 95 —— CONTENTS PAGE Introduction ix The Tragedy of Hamlet i Appendix I. The "Travelling" of the Players. 229 Appendix II.— Some Passages from the Quarto of 1603 231 Appendix III. Addenda 235 INTRODUCTION This edition of Hamlet aims in the first place at giving a trustworthy text. Secondly, it attempts to exhibit the variations from that text which are found in the primary sources—the Quarto of 1604 and the Folio of 1623 — in so far as those variations are of importance towards the ascertainment of the text. Every variation is not recorded, but I have chosen to err on the side of excess rather than on that of defect. Readings from the Quarto of 1603 are occa- sionally given, and also from the later Quartos and Folios, but to record such readings is not a part of the design of this edition. 1 The letter Q means Quarto 604 ; F means Folio 1623. The dates of the later Quartos are as follows: —Q 3, 1605 161 1 undated 6, For ; Q 4, ; Q 5, ; Q 1637. my few references to these later Quartos I have trusted the Cambridge Shakespeare and Furness's edition of Hamlet. Thirdly, it gives explanatory notes. Here it is inevitable that my task should in the main be that of selection and condensation. But, gleaning after the gleaners, I have perhaps brought together a slender sheaf.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke (Open Library) 4/18/12 3:12 PM
    The tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke (Open Library) 4/18/12 3:12 PM Log in / Sign Up SUBJECTS AUTHORS ADD A BOOK Search LISTS RECENTLY ABOUT US One web page for every book. Show only eBooks More search options Last edited anonymously The tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: a March 28, 2012 | History Edit study with the text of the folio of 1623 661 editions By William Shakespeare About the Book The play, set in the Kingdom of Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius for murdering the old King Hamlet, Claudius's own brother and Prince Hamlet's father, and then succeeding to the throne and marrying Gertrude, the King Hamlet's widow and mother of Prince Hamlet. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption. - Wikipedia SUBJECTS Drama, Princes, Hamlet (Legendary character), Revenge, Murder victims' families, Kings and rulers, Death, Fathers, Succession, Bibliography, Textual Criticism, Quartos, Plays, Regicides, Stage history, English literature, Sources, Juvenile drama, History and criticism, Motion pictures, Hamlet (Motion picture: 1948), Juvenile literature, Criticism and interpretation, Study and teaching, Production and direction, Tragedy, Adaptations, Translations into Russian, Translating into Russian, Collections, Inheritance and succession, Britons, Translations into French, Paper toy making, English Plays, Aging Manage Covers parents, Outlines, syllabi, Scripts,
    [Show full text]
  • HAMLET: PRESS RESPONSES Almeida & West End (2017) Shakespeare
    HAMLET: PRESS RESPONSES Almeida & West End (2017) Shakespeare www.roberticke.com FINANCIAL TIMES Ian Shuttleworth ★★★★★ I have been privileged to see several first-class Hamlets this century: Simon Russell Beale, Samuel West, David Tennant, Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, arguably Lars Eidinger. Andrew Scott is at least as outstanding as any of those, and right now I’m inclined to rank him in front. His Prince is almost always self-aware, but not self-understanding; on the contrary, his keynote is a kind of bemused wonder at goings-on both within and beyond his skin. The great soliloquies seem new-minted, every word a separate question. The playfulness at which Scott so excels (most notably as Moriarty in BBC-TV’s Sherlock) is here kept under a rigorously tight rein. I did not see this production when it opened at the Almeida a few months ago, but my impression is that neither Scott’s nor anyone else’s performance has been ramped up for a venue two and half times the size; the consequent occasional intelligibility problems are far outweighed by the sense of human scale. For this is the glory of Robert Icke’s production. It does not consist of a superlative Prince Hamlet, a clutch of fine supporting performances and a number of sharp directorial ideas stitched together into a plausible fabric; rather, it is whole and entire of itself. Angus Wright’s cool, disciplined Claudius, Juliet Stevenson’s besotted-then-horrified Gertrude, Jessica Brown Findlay’s Ophelia (at first at sea like Hamlet, finally psychologically shattered in a wheelchair), David Rintoul’s doubling of the Ghost and the Player King .
    [Show full text]
  • Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 90Th Academy Awards Alien
    REMINDER LIST OF PRODUCTIONS ELIGIBLE FOR THE 90TH ACADEMY AWARDS ALIEN: COVENANT Actors: Michael Fassbender. Billy Crudup. Danny McBride. Demian Bichir. Jussie Smollett. Nathaniel Dean. Alexander England. Benjamin Rigby. Uli Latukefu. Goran D. Kleut. Actresses: Katherine Waterston. Carmen Ejogo. Callie Hernandez. Amy Seimetz. Tess Haubrich. Lorelei King. ALL I SEE IS YOU Actors: Jason Clarke. Wes Chatham. Danny Huston. Actresses: Blake Lively. Ahna O'Reilly. Yvonne Strahovski. ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD Actors: Christopher Plummer. Mark Wahlberg. Romain Duris. Timothy Hutton. Charlie Plummer. Charlie Shotwell. Andrew Buchan. Marco Leonardi. Giuseppe Bonifati. Nicolas Vaporidis. Actresses: Michelle Williams. ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS AMERICAN ASSASSIN Actors: Dylan O'Brien. Michael Keaton. David Suchet. Navid Negahban. Scott Adkins. Taylor Kitsch. Actresses: Sanaa Lathan. Shiva Negar. AMERICAN MADE Actors: Tom Cruise. Domhnall Gleeson. Actresses: Sarah Wright. AND THE WINNER ISN'T ANNABELLE: CREATION Actors: Anthony LaPaglia. Brad Greenquist. Mark Bramhall. Joseph Bishara. Adam Bartley. Brian Howe. Ward Horton. Fred Tatasciore. Actresses: Stephanie Sigman. Talitha Bateman. Lulu Wilson. Miranda Otto. Grace Fulton. Philippa Coulthard. Samara Lee. Tayler Buck. Lou Lou Safran. Alicia Vela-Bailey. ARCHITECTS OF DENIAL ATOMIC BLONDE Actors: James McAvoy. John Goodman. Til Schweiger. Eddie Marsan. Toby Jones. Actresses: Charlize Theron. Sofia Boutella. 90th Academy Awards Page 1 of 34 AZIMUTH Actors: Sammy Sheik. Yiftach Klein. Actresses: Naama Preis. Samar Qupty. BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) Actors: 1DKXHO 3«UH] %LVFD\DUW $UQDXG 9DORLV $QWRLQH 5HLQDUW] )«OL[ 0DULWDXG 0«GKL 7RXU« Actresses: $GªOH +DHQHO THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN'S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BABY DRIVER Actors: Ansel Elgort. Kevin Spacey. Jon Bernthal. Jon Hamm. Jamie Foxx.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dramatic Space of Hamlet's Theatre
    Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 4, 1 (2012) 59-75 “The Play’s the Thing” The Dramatic Space of Hamlet’s Theatre Balázs SZIGETI Eötvös Loránd University Department of English Studies [email protected] Abstract. In my paper I investigate the use of the dramatic space in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The tragedy will be observed with the method of “pre-performance criticism,” which first and foremost makes use of the several potentials a play contains and puts on display before an actual performance; it offers, also in the light of the secondary literature, various ways of interpretation, resulting from the close-reading of the play and considers their possible realizations in the space of the stage both from the director’s and the actor’s point of view, including the consequences the respective lines of interpretation may have as regards the play as a whole. Hamlet does not only raise the questions of the theatrical realization of a play but it also reflects on the ontology of the dramatic space by putting the performance of The Mousetrap-play into one of its focal points and scrutinises the very interaction between the dramatic space and the realm of the audience. I will discuss the process how Hamlet makes use of his private theatre and how the dramatic space is transformed as The Murder of Gonzago turns into The Mousetrap-performance. Keywords: Hamlet; The Mousetrap; dramatic space; pre-performance criticism Shakespeare’s Hamlet1 does not only raise the questions of the theatrical realization of a play but it also reflects on the ontology of the dramatic space by putting the performance of The Mousetrap-play into one of its focal points and 1 In the present paper I quote the play according to the Norton Shakespeare edition (Greenblatt et.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Moffat Writer
    Peter Moffat Writer Barrister turned writer, Peter Moffat started out writing plays – his first, ‘Fine and Private Place’ was broadcast on BBC Radio – before going on to create several television dramas, including ‘Criminal Justice, ‘Silk’ and ‘North Square,’ which he won the Broadcasting Press Guild Writer’s Award. He was awarded two BAFTAS for ‘Criminal Justice,’ which was the basis for HBO’s Emmy-winning series ‘The Night Of,’ starring Riz Ahmed. His most recent series for Showtime, ‘Your Honour,’ stars Bryan Cranston and ‘61st Street’ with Michael B. Jordan as Executive Producer. Agents Charles Walker Assistant [email protected] Olivia Martin +44 (0) 20 3214 0874 [email protected] +44 (0) 20 3214 0778 Credits Television Production Company Notes 61ST STREET AMC Studios Executive Producer: Michael B. Jordan 2020 YOUR HONOR CBS for Showtime 10 x 60 2020 Producer: Liz Glotzer and Michelle & Robert King Lead Director: Ed Berger Starring: Bryan Cranston and Courtney B. Vance THE LAST POST BBC 6 x 60 2017 Aden 1965. This is the story of a British army unit fighting a Yemeni insurgency in the Middle East and the women and children who were there with them. THE NIGHT OF HBO Executive Producer 2016 Based on the Peter's orginal series Criminal Justice United Agents | 12-26 Lexington Street London W1F OLE | T +44 (0) 20 3214 0800 | F +44 (0) 20 3214 0801 | E [email protected] Production Company Notes UNDERCOVER BBC1 6 x60' with Sophie Okonedo and Adrian Lester, Denis 2015 Haysbert Director James Hawes, Exec Producer Peter Moffat THE VILLAGE series Company Pictures 6 x 60' with John Simm, Maxine Peake, Juliet Stevenson 1 / BBC1 Producer: Emma Burge; Director: Antonia Bird 2013 SILK 2 BBC1 6 x 60' With Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry Jones, Frances 2012 Barber, and Neil Stuke Producer: Richard Stokes; Directors: Alice Troughton, Jeremy Webb, Peter Hoar SILK BBC1 6 x 60' 2011 With Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry Jones, Natalie Dormer, Tom Hughes and Neil Stuke.
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare on Film, Video & Stage
    William Shakespeare on Film, Video and Stage Titles in bold red font with an asterisk (*) represent the crème de la crème – first choice titles in each category. These are the titles you’ll probably want to explore first. Titles in bold black font are the second- tier – outstanding films that are the next level of artistry and craftsmanship. Once you have experienced the top tier, these are where you should go next. They may not represent the highest achievement in each genre, but they are definitely a cut above the rest. Finally, the titles which are in a regular black font constitute the rest of the films within the genre. I would be the first to admit that some of these may actually be worthy of being “ranked” more highly, but it is a ridiculously subjective matter. Bibliography Shakespeare on Silent Film Robert Hamilton Ball, Theatre Arts Books, 1968. (Reissued by Routledge, 2016.) Shakespeare and the Film Roger Manvell, Praeger, 1971. Shakespeare on Film Jack J. Jorgens, Indiana University Press, 1977. Shakespeare on Television: An Anthology of Essays and Reviews J.C. Bulman, H.R. Coursen, eds., UPNE, 1988. The BBC Shakespeare Plays: Making the Televised Canon Susan Willis, The University of North Carolina Press, 1991. Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography Kenneth S. Rothwell, Neil Schuman Pub., 1991. Still in Movement: Shakespeare on Screen Lorne M. Buchman, Oxford University Press, 1991. Shakespeare Observed: Studies in Performance on Stage and Screen Samuel Crowl, Ohio University Press, 1992. Shakespeare and the Moving Image: The Plays on Film and Television Anthony Davies & Stanley Wells, eds., Cambridge University Press, 1994.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamlet on the Screen Prof
    Scholars International Journal of Linguistics and Literature Abbreviated Key Title: Sch Int J Linguist Lit ISSN 2616-8677 (Print) |ISSN 2617-3468 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com/sijll Review Article Hamlet on the Screen Prof. Essam Fattouh* English Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Alexandria (Egypt) DOI: 10.36348/sijll.2020.v03i04.001 | Received: 20.03.2020 | Accepted: 27.03.2020 | Published: 07.04.2020 *Corresponding author: Prof. Essam Fattouh Abstract The challenge of adapting William Shakespeare‟s Hamlet for the screen has preoccupied cinema from its earliest days. After a survey of the silent Hamlet productions, the paper critically examines Asta Nielsen‟s Hamlet: The Drama of Vengeance by noting how her main character is really a woman. My discussion of the modern productions of Shakespeare begins with a critical discussion of Lawrence Olivier‟s seminal production of 1948. The Russian Hamlet of 1964, directed by Grigori Kozintsev, is shown to combine a psychological interpretation of the hero without disregarding its socio-political context. The action-film genre deployed by Franco Zeffirelli in his 1990 adaptation of the play, through a moving performance by Mel Gibson, is analysed. Kenneth Branagh‟s ambitious and well-financed production of 1996 is shown to be somewhat marred by its excesses. Michael Almereyda‟s attempt to present Shakespeare‟s hero in a contemporary setting is shown to have powerful moments despite its flaws. The paper concludes that Shakespeare‟s masterpiece will continue to fascinate future generations of directors, actors and audiences. Keywords: Shakespeare – Hamlet – silent film – film adaptations – modern productions – Russian – Olivier – Branagh – contemporary setting.
    [Show full text]
  • Hamlet Study Guide Levels Two & Three Wilson Know the Characters: Hamlet – Prince of Denmark Claudius – Hamlet's Uncl
    Hamlet Study Guide Levels Two & Three Wilson Know the Characters: Hamlet – Prince of Denmark Claudius – Hamlet’s Uncle; he was recently crowned king of Denmark Gertrude – Queen of Denmark; Hamlet’s mother Polonius – Advisor to the King Ophelia – Hamlet’s love interest; Polonius’ daughter Laertes – Polonius’ son Ophelia’s brother Horatio – Hamlet’s best friend; voice of reason in the play Fortinbras – Prince of Norway; wants to regain land lost by his father Courtiers: Rosencrantz – Noblemen and acquaintances of Hamlet invited to cheer him Guildenstern – up Osric - Cornelius Voltemand – Ambassador charged with going to Norway Officers, Soldiers, and Servants: Francisco – Marcellus – Soldiers who first witness the ghost while on guard Bernardo – Reynaldo – Servant to Polonius Act One, Scene One 1. What is the setting for the play? Denmark; Elsinore Castle 2. What are Bernardo and Francisco doing at the beginning of the play? They are on watch waiting for their replacements. 3. What is going on that makes this necessary? There is a military threat from Norway, in the form of Young Fortinbras. 4. Why is Horatio summoned to the roof of the castle? The want him to witness and/or validate the appearance of the ghost of the dead king. 5. What decision does Horatio make after witnessing what he does? He decides to tell young Hamlet, because he thinks the ghost will speak to him. Act One, Scene Two 6. What has recently happened in Hamlet’s family? His father died and his mother married his uncle. 7. Why is Hamlet being scolded by his uncle? His uncle feels Hamlet has been mourning his father for too long.
    [Show full text]
  • Make Us Laugh at That: Hamlet's Gravediggers
    “Make Us Laugh at That: Hamlet’s Gravediggers” LAURY MAGNUS Though the “Clownes” in 5.1.appear only once in Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Gravediggers’ Scene has been called “the most extraordinary scene in this extraordinary play” (CN3189, Hibbard, 1987), a valuation that is surely a function of the proud professional undertaker, the First Clown, whose quick wit shines out in dialogue but who is intently focused and in his own world when at his proper task of digging. Does this clown speak more lines than have been “set down for him?”1 Of course, such a question is one that textual evidence in itself can’t decide. But what it does point to is that even when intent on his digging, the Gravedigger enjoys the limelight and “performing” for himself and for any passers-by. What is also clear is that the Gravedigger’s singing at his tasks intrigues Hamlet at a critical point of passage in the play. As an outsider first introduced in this scene of the play, the Gravedigger could be seen as a choric figure. In his initial dialogue with Second Clown, he unwittingly comments on the prior actions of the prince and the court of Denmark that have led them to seek the consecrated “ground” of his professional turf. For his part, the prince, now also an “outsider” who stumbles upon this site, becomes a kind of correlative choric figure as he comments to Horatio on the Gravedigger’s song and accompanying gestures and then draws out the Gravedigger concerning his trade. From this dual choric perspective grows what is to be a direct duel of wits between clown and prince that is prelude to the mortal duel of 5.2.
    [Show full text]
  • Ruggeri's Amleto
    © Luke McKernan 2004 RUGGERO RUGGERI’S AMLETO Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, USA 4 November 2004 Luke McKernan Of all the products of the first thirty years of cinema, when films were silent, perhaps none were so peculiar, so intriguing, and in their way so revealing of the temper of the medium in its formative years, as silent Shakespeare films. Shakespeare in the cinema is enough of a challenge for some people; what about Shakespeare on film when you can’t hear any of the words? The film you are to see this evening is one of two hundred or more Shakespeare films that were made in the silent period of cinema. You are seeing it because it has survived (when so many films from this time have not), because it is a rarity scarcely known even by those who are expert in this area, and because it is a good and interesting film. Not a great film, but arguably the best silent Shakespeare film that exists. It is certainly a film that needs to be much better known. To those who may never have seen a silent film before, be assured that even if you can’t hear the words you will be able to read them, as such films commonly have on-screen titles throughout, and in performance they were never silent as such in any case – for you had music. Silent Shakespeare I said that more than two hundred silent Shakespeare films were made, and that is true, but few of these were feature-length, that is, an hour or more, such as this evening’s attraction.
    [Show full text]