Watching some previous versions of Hamlet get me thinking how taxing this role can get. At first I thought I would have a field day playing this role. I’m unapologetically crazy anyway. But I forgot that it is still Shakespeare after all.
So exploring the role ended up discovering several interesting facts about the play itself. The origins, the records it held and the limits of being crazy applied on the role to remind the audience that while Hamlet’s sanity is going nowhere, he still tried to put up a facade of being “normal”.
– Hamlet is based on Amleth
Amleth is the tale of a young Viking warrior who comes home to find his father murdered and his mother marrying his uncle, a presumed attempt to avoid a power vacuum. What power vacuum when the son usually succeeds the dead king? Anyway, Hamlet was performed in the early 1600’s which is proof that even way back then, adaptations of European literature is already common.
– Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play ever
That’s how indecisive Hamlet is in plotting revenge. He got too preoccupied with acting forlorn, depressed and antisocial that he can’t even bring himself to do it or did he? It makes the question “To be or not to be?” almost irrelevant to the scheme he concocted to push his uncle to come clean whether he killed his own brother for the throne or not.
What possibly lengthened the play was the series of soliloquies recited here. Again, another sign of indecisiveness on Hamlet’s part as he puts too much effort on contemplating his revenge that all he ever accomplished is a series of monologues directed to himself.
– Hamlet, in turn, has an opera adaptation too
3 of Shakespeare’s straight plays have had opera adaptations and Hamlet is the only one in French. With music by French composer Ambroise Thomas, it was shorter compared to the 4-hour long version of Shakespeare. Some versions even show Hamlet cutting himself on the torso and his forearms to stomach the sight of his mother marrying his uncle less than 2 months after the king died.
There was even a version that did not mind presenting Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, as a sex-starved widow. Either she really was in the play as Shakespeare intended or some directors chose to present the opera in the twisted point of view of Hamlet.
– Hamlet is about madness, real and faked
The challenge for the actor is to avoid going over-the-top when the character is feigning madness. The challenge for the audience is to guess which parts are legitimate crazy and which parts are just pissing the rest of the characters off. Hamlet seemed to enjoy the attention he’s getting from the craziness he exuded ever since he fell into depression.
The real insanity that is easiest to spot in this play is how Hamlet pushed Ophelia away from him. His mother’s marriage to Claudius really ruined his view of women as said in the line “Frailty, thy name is Woman!” So before Ophelia would get a chance to cheat on him, Hamlet pushed her away.
– Hamlet’s full original title is “The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark”
It due time it simply got referred to as “Hamlet” since much of the story revolved around him. The word “tragedy” in the title sounded like a spoiler although some deaths are not physical.
I am excited to play Hamlet next month. Expectations are high. I welcome the pressure because an actor has got to what an actor has got to do. No regrets. Roles like this can really get you thinking how therapeutic theater can get. It will be staged in February although you have to keep yourself posted for updates for the particular dates. Just like my official Facebook page, Kuya Manzano Fan Club, and follow me on Twitter @kuyamanzano to learn about them first. See you around.
