Last night, I, along with pretty much every other person in attendance, was memorized by the National Theatre Live adaptation of Hamlet. I think what made this performance interesting, and at least to me, a stand out performance was the unique use of costuming and music throughout the performance.
What intrigued me the most out of the performance was Cumberbatch's David Bowie shirt. I am not even kidding a little bit. I love David Bowie and that was incredible. I feel like Hamlet and I would be buds just because of that shirt. Forget everything else. That shirt was great. But, in all seriousness, I loved the costuming in the play. It had such an interesting impact on each character. Many characters seem to be stuck in different times, and I think each of the times reflected the character's personality. Like, with the Bowie shirt and Hamlet, it showed that he was acting, you know, a little bit crazy. (Think Bowie in Labyrinth) I think one could argue that this made it more confusing, but I actually saw the different modernization interesting in that they reflected each character.
The music was also what drew me in. "Nature Boy" playing at the beginning was incredible. It gave us the first glimpse into the modernization of this rendition, and it also set the tone for the all around awesomeness that would occur. Then, throughout the play, whenever a scene was changed, they always used the fast forward motion of the actors, along with exciting music, to move onto the next scene. I LOVED that there was not a curtain. I feel like it made everything flow together, and the actors were so great at moving quickly between scenes that it did not feel annoying or rushed.
Other thoughts:
-My only complaint is Ophelia bugged me, like she REALLY bugged me. I'm not sure why. She kind of looked like Zooey Deschanel, and maybe that had something to do with it? But, I thought her madness was interesting. I just didn't LOVE her. But, that's okay.
-"To be or Not to Be" scene. Earlier that day, we had focused on the different renditions of this. So, while I was watching the play this stood out. I think that the almost, sadness that accompanies it was beautiful. He just seemed so torn and lost, and it was incredible acting.
10/10 would view again.
Kate, first and more importantly, are you not a Zooey Deschanel fan? Okay, now for the more trivial things. I also loved the David Bowie shirt. I heard people around me slowly realizing that that's exactly what it was. Why do you think that Bowie is significant, if at all? Is that what your remark about craziness and the Labyrinth is about? I agree that "Nature Boy" is perfect, especially since it can be seen as both melancholy and maybe a little bit crazy. I also liked how they brought it in again in the middle of the play while he is playing his record player.
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