Theatre review: Hamlet in the Other Room
Words by Ivan Jankovic
To wander at will between two rooms — an exciting and dangerous theatre experience
Directed by Zola Allen
Written by Zola Allen & William Shakespeare
In the University of Adelaide’s Barr Smith Library, no fewer than half a dozen modestly-sized shelves house critical works on that most mysterious phenomenon of the English language: the works of William Shakespeare. No other writer’s critical bibliography compares in sheer volume. It is not only actors who learn how satisfying it can be to live vicariously through these plays. His words invite practically infinite reflection.
I thought about these dusty shelves a lot while watching Hamlet in the Other Room, Good Company Theatre’s maiden production. We don’t know enough about the Bard’s temperament to judge him, but to paraphrase his most precocious student, James Joyce, he probably would have liked the idea of keeping the professors busy for a few hundred years. And this is certainly a Hamlet for the 21st century.
So, there are two rooms. In one, the audience can watch a truncated version of Hamlet by the well-rounded all-female cast. In the other room — the green room — we see the fictional actors wrangle with the play, their private lives, and the exhausting overlap which any theatre-maker knows too well. “Centuries long days in rehearsal discussing the text”, Chloe Willis’ Brenda laments, “…I found new ways to be bored I didn’t even know existed.” And that’s not even the most irreverent this play gets.
The audience is invited to move at will between the rooms of the dinky, charming Rumpus warehouse. You will almost certainly not see the same performance I did. You will probably bump into others as you shuffle out of your seat, and share a knowing smile with each other at how delightfully absurd it all is. And, if you’re like me, you’ll probably leave fearing you didn’t get the whole picture.
When it comes to the Danish play itself, writer-director Zola Allen definitely hits the beats. Hamlet’s famous soliloquy (you know which one) gets a deliciously silly rhythm section, but a much more understated moment — about a certain grave willow — is treated like a sacred experience. Shakespeare is at his best when the director doesn’t buy into the hype, and the result here is a refreshing and playful interpretation. Some performances outshine others, especially from Evie Leonard as a soulful Ophelia and Kidaan Zelleke as the commanding Hamlet. Belinda Gehlert’s dreamy, IDM-inspired sound design and Katherine Cooper’s economical, lush-pink set are perfect for this black-box production.
Before the show, an usher promises there is no “right way” to watch it; I’m not so sure, unless you’re happy to see it again the following night. For example, unless you’re in precisely the right place at precisely the right time, you’ll miss a crucial exchange about pyromania which shines light on the spectacular, dizzying finale, not to mention a host of other throwaway lines which are the bone and marrow of Hamlet in the Other Room.
As Ophelia is sent to her doom, the actors backstage curse her twisted fate and the whole phallic thrust of this no longer “fit for purpose” story. Whatever you think of the statement, making it while being part of one of the greatest tragedies ever penned is bold, and bold statements are sorely missing among Shakespearian adaptations. What would he have thought of this unhinged challenge to the golden child of world literature — his child?
A retort: does it actually matter? We need not write about Shakespeare in fear of defrocking him, like such a thing were even possible. Living texts though they are, they have lives of their own. Hamlet in the Other Room gets very close and very personal with the Bard. It is an exciting and dangerous experience, unlike any I’ve encountered in the theatre. This is certainly a playwright’s play, written for the well-versed punter. I just really wish I got to see the other half of it.
