They drink the sand because they don't know the difference

[marigoldplaybil]

First real rehearsal today. I got my explanation tapes, listened to them, and I'm really excited to play Gertrude. I want to do her a bit differently than Richard described her. He kind of made her out to be more of a victim than I think she should be. There's already one female victim in the play, and two is a bit of an overload. I guess I think

Comments

[bardswildflower]

I couldn't agree with you more! That's *exactly* how I've come to view Gertrude throughout the process of preparing this play. You said it perfectly - that she's refusing to put together the clues. And I also completely agree that she's fallen in love with Claudius.

My director had a very interesting take on it. He said that Claudius is often played as the villain of the show...but what if he wasn't? What if he was genuinely in love with Gertrude? That he didnt kill his brother just for the crown...but for the love of the Queen? And what if Gertrude loved him back?

Also, taking it a step further, he said...what if King Hamlet were actually an abusive man? We see that he is a very strong & intimidating presence and that his son fears him when he comes as a ghost. What if Claudius was saving his beloved from a terrible life? What a twist that makes on the whole thing! :D

I agree, there's so many ways to interpret her character...but I think you've nailed it as far as I'm concerned. ;)

As far as Ophelia goes, I don't think that she's at all the weak, simpering and submissive girl that people make her out to be. She's got a brain...she has a strong will. She loves her father & her brother...but her heart belongs to Hamlet. When she is "forced" to confront Hamlet by the King & her father...she doesn't want to do it. She just wants to be with her beloved & understand what is really going on with him. The whole "get thee to a nunnery" scene is not a set-up as we're led to believe...it is a genuine cry for understanding on the two lover's part. Ophelia is begging Hamlet to be real with her and explain what's going on...while in the meantime, he's trying to push her away to avoid hurting her in the end.

Her "crazy scene" isn't going crazy simply because her father is dead...she's going crazy because she is suffering from a broken heart. She loved Hamlet more than some of us could ever even begin to understand...and with his betrayal, he has ripped that part of her soul from her.

I play my Ophelia as being strong. Not sassy or insolent towards her father or anything...just strong. Like I said, she has a brain & a will. Ophelia is not a pawn in this "game" the others are playing...if anything, she's doing some manipulating of her own.