It is one of the best things about Doran’s staging, as well, that the audience is able to see Gertrude slowly crumble under the weight of her guilt even as the realization of her part in the situation is still yet to come. In her, the expression of Gertrude’s conflict is as palpable, as affecting, as Hamlet’s, which is wonderful to see. Penny Downie is formidable, and not a little terrifying at times, as she goes from composed monarch to concerned mother and back again in a blink. Queen Gertrude is sometimes portrayed very passively, at least until her final scene, but thankfully, not so here. His sly, usurper-king is also a brilliant balance to Tennant’s conflicted prince, his calm, assured demeanor demonstrating how the court could come to trust him, and how easily he might sway even a queen against her own son. This Claudius is not only commanding and calculating, but he’s open, affable, and even somewhat sympathetic, which makes him all the more sinister a villain. The contrast between the two characters gives Stewart room to breathe a great deal of life, as it were, into the new king. That this production also casts Stewart in the role of the Ghost also surely informs his Claudius. Patrick Stewart has played Claudius on film before (to Sir Derek Jacobi’s Hamlet in the 1980 television production The Complete Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Prince of Denmark), but where that previous portrayal was stern and straight-off-of-the-page in a manner one might expect of an actor 30 years younger, this one is much more nuanced, clearly benefiting both from Stewart’s greater experience, as well as his probable deeper understanding of the play as a whole. This newer Hamlet, however, has more in common with the passionate performances of earlier works, such as the 1964 production starring Richard Burton, with Stewart, Penny Downie and Tennant, especially, embodying all the energy and emotion within the words. While the 1996 Branagh version is often cited as superior because it is more complete as far as the Bard’s written words than others unfortunately, it still seems to be lacking something of the spirit of the play in the performances. Doran also employs a more intimate focus on the characters’ inner workings and interpersonal relationships than most prior directors. The recurring set details of reflective surfaces, cracked mirrors and closed circuit cameras further enhance and enforce themes of introspection and isolation, as well as imparting the paranoia of a police state. Where Branagh chose to play upon a grand scale, both with lavish sets and costuming, and in the attention paid to the political climate and surrounding consequences, Doran and the RSC opted for a starker setting. From a two-minute French picture made in 1900 starring Sarah Bernhardt as the Danish prince or a 1920 adaptation in which Hamlet is born female but disguised to protect the royal lineage, to the 1948 Olivier classic or the stunning 1964 Russian translation, from Burton and Gielgud or Gibson and Zeffirelli to Ethan Hawke’s modern allegorical effort or Kenneth Branagh’s faithful, and unabridged, four hours, Hamlet is perfectly suited to almost endless alteration and interpretation. One could spend days debating on the subject simply because there have been such a great many film versions over the years, but that’s part of what makes Shakespeare, and particularly Hamlet, so enduring. The previous standard bearer is a matter of widely varied opinion. Since the release of the film, Tennant’s depiction has been hailed as the definitive Hamlet for a new generation. Though there have been several other stage productions starring high profile actors recently (including Jude Law last year and John Simm upcoming later this year, to name two), this RSC rendition has overshadowed them all. The production was so well-received that the RSC teamed with the BBC to translate it into a film, which was broadcast at Christmas 2009 in the UK and in the spring of 2010 as part of Great Performances on PBS stations in the US. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2008-2009 season produced a wildly successful staging of Hamlet, directed by Gregory Doran and starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart.
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