Theatre, drama department takes modern angle on Shakespearean classic

In the Department of Theatre and Drama’s new production of “Hamlet,” Ophelia chills in a beanbag chair; Gertrude reads Vogue and Claudius uses a laptop to order a hit on his nephew after Hamlet takes out Polonius with a gun.

“It’s not stodgy Shakespeare your grandmother might have seen,” said director Murray McGibbon, who cut and recontextualized the classic. “It’s very hip and now.”

The original play in its entirety runs five to six hours long, McGibbon said.

“I’ve had to cut nearly half the text,” he said, though the words are all still Shakespeare’s. “I’ve just tried to make the text accessible to modern audiences.”

Graduate student Harper Jones will perform as Hamlet for his thesis role and said the actors want to tell the story by cutting it down to only the parts most important for their audience.

“Shakespeare is the easiest playwright to work with,” Jones said, because he gives the actors everything they need, if they just listen to what he has to say. “Every day, I find something new.”

Dramaturge, or script analyst, Tom Shafer compared the plot line to what America would be like if Donald Rumsfeld had President George W. Bush killed, married Laura Bush and wouldn’t let Vice President Dick Cheney take office, but also wouldn’t allow him to leave Washington.

“You know that elephant in the room that nobody talks about? That’s Hamlet,” he said, illustrating the fact that everyone knows Hamlet should be king, but they wonder why he isn’t.

“Playing stupid is a tactic Hamlet uses so he can be around and see things,” Shafer said. “Nobody pays attention to the jester, so Hamlet makes himself one.”

Jones gave McGibbon credit as a highly honest and supportive director who pushes him to his best in a role that is one of Shakespeare’s most challenging.

“He’s given me the opportunity to be the actor I’ve always known I could be but never had the chance to be before,” Jones said. “I get to play in a very honest way. ... So often I just go, ‘Oh, my God, I’m playing Hamlet.’”

The Shakespearean plays have survived the centuries because they deal with the strongest emotions in human nature, McGibbon said.

“We can identify with lust, greed, love,” he said, adding that Hamlet is the best of the Bard’s work because it combines all of these.

Jones agreed, saying the play combines all possible dramatic elements – from action to romance – and will keep audiences entertained from beginning to end.

“It’s everything you could ask for in a play – love, death, comedy, tragedy and everything in between,” he said. “Nobody wants to see a tragedy that’s dull and boring.”

Jones also said the language appeals to the senses, and this production provides good visual stimuli.

Just don’t get too attached to any of the characters – with almost as many murder weapons as a game of “Clue,” chances are good they’ll end up poisoned, stabbed, shot or drowned by the end of the play.