Hamlet
Last Friday (well technically the Friday before last, Jan. 8th) me and Michaela went to see this German production of Hamlet at the Sydney Theatre.
It was liek, woah.
Having it all in German was a little weird to start with but quickly I found it brilliant. I ended up having this odd but wonderful thing going on in my head. In my head I could hear the lyricism of Shakespeare's lines as I read the English subtitles while at the same time listening to the more guttural German. It created this interesting rhythmic contrast that totally worked.
Very modern interpretation. I loved the little moments where it broke from character, like when Hamlet came down into the audience and started asking people questions in English. Or during one of the really dramatic scenes the guy playing either Guildenstern or Rosencrantz (can't remember which) started coughing. So Hamlet stops his speech and says to the guy something like, "You okay there? Would you like to take a break? etc."
Thought it was interesting that they opened with the "to be or not to be" soliloquy. Ended up using it three times altogether throughout the production. And the woman playing both Ophelia and Hamlet's mother was fantastic. She was brilliant when she was protraying the mad Ophelia.
Overall, I thought it was fantastic. (Would've liked an interval, as it went for three hours straight, and I was getting a bit restless in my seat towards the end, but other than that...)
It was liek, woah.
Having it all in German was a little weird to start with but quickly I found it brilliant. I ended up having this odd but wonderful thing going on in my head. In my head I could hear the lyricism of Shakespeare's lines as I read the English subtitles while at the same time listening to the more guttural German. It created this interesting rhythmic contrast that totally worked.
Very modern interpretation. I loved the little moments where it broke from character, like when Hamlet came down into the audience and started asking people questions in English. Or during one of the really dramatic scenes the guy playing either Guildenstern or Rosencrantz (can't remember which) started coughing. So Hamlet stops his speech and says to the guy something like, "You okay there? Would you like to take a break? etc."
Thought it was interesting that they opened with the "to be or not to be" soliloquy. Ended up using it three times altogether throughout the production. And the woman playing both Ophelia and Hamlet's mother was fantastic. She was brilliant when she was protraying the mad Ophelia.
Overall, I thought it was fantastic. (Would've liked an interval, as it went for three hours straight, and I was getting a bit restless in my seat towards the end, but other than that...)