Hamlet, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Klein Theatre, Washington, DC

 

Eddie Izzard in her solo performance as Hamlet and others in Shakespeare's Hamlet at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Photo credit: Amanda Searle.

Hamlet is often considered the best play written by William Shakespeare – certainly most would count it among his top five. The title role in this tragedy has challenged some of the best actors in the world on the stage and/or on film, some of whom are so well-known that I need only list their surnames: Gielgud, Olivier, Burton, and Branagh. And not just the men: the legendary Sarah Bernhardt performed it in 1899 in Paris and London.

According to the Internet Broadway Data Base website, Hamlet was first produced on Broadway in 1761 (long before Broadway was Broadway and pre-dating American independence). It has been produced on Broadway 63 separate times, most recently in 2009 starring Jude Law. Hamlet has been filmed no fewer than 25 times (including TV films), with stars including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ethan Hawke, Riz Ahmed, and Mel Gibson; Laurence Olivier won an Oscar as Best Actor for the 1948 film, which he also directed, and which won the Best Picture Oscar. Shakespeare Theatre Company, where Eddie Izzard’s performance is currently onstage in their Klein Theatre space, produced it several years ago, starring Michael Urie.

What separates Eddie Izzard’s performance from the rest is that Izzard isn’t just playing Hamlet, she is playing 23 separate characters in a script adapted/edited by Mark Izzard, who is Eddie’s brother. Mark Izzard has performed a yeoman’s task by whittling Shakespeare’s script from what usually lasts for 3+ hours to a more manageable 2 hours and 15 minutes or so. I am not so familiar with the original that I could tell you what was cut and what language was modernized in the process.

Izzard begins the performance by addressing the audience directly, breaking the “fourth wall” that was not there when Shakespeare was writing. Actors directed their soliloquies directly to the audience and were keenly keeping their eyes (and ears) open. Izzard began as an English street performer and says that her own training and experience could be considered a contemporary version of the training Shakespeare’s actors might have had. After stating that the play was about a family destroying itself in a nation destroying itself, she gave the audience a sly smile and a nod, implying that we just may be in the same predicament.

I won’t attempt to provide a thorough synopsis of the play, but give you a general summary. King Hamlet (Hamlet’s father) has died under suspicious circumstances and Prince Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, has too-quickly married the king’s brother Claudius (her former brother-in-law and Prince Hamlet’s uncle), who has proclaimed himself to be king. Hamlet blames Claudius and, in “revenge tragedy” tradition, he sets out to avenge his father’s death. The intrigue and maleficence involve a variety of other characters including Ophelia, who is in love with Hamlet, as well as her father Polonius and brother Laertes. By the end of the play, a number of corpses are left on the stage. Hamlet has, indeed, avenged his father’s death, but will never see the outcome of the conflict. It is, of course, a tragedy, so the carnage is extensive and the unhappy ending required.

It took me a few minutes to adjust to the performance as Izzard turned from one side to another in creating conversation, but as the performance continued, I was absolutely mesmerized. Sometimes I was not sure who was speaking when the conversation included some of the minor characters, but that is inconsequential. Izzard’s portrayals of Hamlet, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, and the Ghost are rendered with certainty and conviction. In recreating conversation between Claudius and Hamlet’s two friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Izzard uses her hands as if they were wearing sock puppets – something that was repeated several times. This was one of many comic touches that were unexpected: Izzard found humor in a number of moments that most would not have found funny.

If I had not been at least somewhat familiar with what happens in the play, I don’t know how much I would have followed it. Izzard makes the language flow quickly, while many might slow things down to ensure that a 21^st century audience would follow a complex plot from the turn of the 16^th to the 17^th century. Rather than belabor the words themselves, Izzard plunges right in at full speed, which somehow makes the language seem natural, requiring the audience to listen more carefully than they might ordinarily. That Izzard knows exactly what she is doing is clear. The blank verse is actually enhanced by this approach.

Eddie Izzard as Hamlet and others. Photo credit: Amanda Searle.

Hamlet is the longest role in Shakespeare’s longest play, a difficult role in and of itself. Beyond memorization of just Hamlet’s lines, the character spends an extensive amount of time onstage, even in a traditional production with a full cast, much less in this solo performance. The role requires portraying many different relationships, attitudes, emotions, and expressions, often moving at lightning speed. On opening night, Izzard had several instances of involuntary coughing, but she powered through: no time for a glass of water somewhere on the stage or an interruption to go offstage for some.

Set designer Tom Piper has created a stage setting that is illustrative of the “fourth wall removed,” almost like a cardboard shoe box that has been turned on its side. The visual picture is “framed,” and appears as a blank canvas. There is no furniture, just a narrow platform at the back of the stage and a door in the stage right wall. Tyler Elich’s lighting design is mostly subtle, but at some points fills the stage. Costume designers Tom Piper and Libby DaCosta give Izzard a simple, short black tunic with a short skirt worn over black tights with footwear that seems to be a cross between a short boot and a platform shoe. Selina Cadell directs the production in concert with movement director Didi Hopkins and fight director J. Allen Suddeth. Eliza Thompson’s score fills in tension when needed but never intrudes on the action.

After being performed in United Kingdom venues, Izzard’s Hamlet played in New York, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco before coming to Washington. She will soon give her 250^th performance, here in Washington. Hamlet’s scheduled run has already been extended to April 11, after which it returns to the United Kingdom and then proceeds to dates in Australia and New Zealand, which makes it truly an “international phenomenon.” Shakespeare purists will no doubt have objections, but an audience curious to see something unforgettable and unique should make their plans to attend.

Eddie Izzard as Hamlet and others. Photo credit: Carol Rosegg.