| William Hazlitt | thought Edmund Kean’s role as Hamlet (1814-32, London) to be portrayed as not enough of the “gentleman and scholar” |
| Colin Keith-Johnston’s portrayal of Hamlet, 1925 | un-poetic and naturalistic→appealed to the mood of post-war disillusionment among the young |
| 1989 RSC Hamlet, directed by Ron Daniels | atmosphere of mental institution |
| Big woollen curtain, envelops Ophelia | Yuri Lyubimov (1971-80) |
| Peter Hall’s production(1965) politically | Rebel like spirit of ’60s, H as counter culture. Criticised conservative establishment |
| Peter Hall presentation of ghost | giant, helmeted 10 ft shadow. When Hamlet says ‘this was a man’ to Horatio, we see the other side to the Oedipus complex: less jealous of C than of his father’s stature. Ghost’s voice=hollow, beneath the stage |
| “Hamlet is the real villain” | Samuel West, acted as Hamlet in 2001 RSC production. Claudius presented as humane, witty and generous. |
| Post Stalin production in which Claudius’ speech is read to the people, not by him | Grigori Kozintsev (1964) |
| How does it echo Stalin’s rule? | Showing Denmark to be a prison. Hamlet only leaves at the end, mortally wounded to die by the crashing waves of the sea, image of freedom throughout play. Huge statues of Claudius |
| Laurence Olivier’s 1948 production | Gertrude’s chamber- vaginal shaped canopy Tracking of camera often returns to shot of back of Olivier’s head→show exploration of Hamlet’s thoughts. Gertrude suspects poison in the wine, drinks anyway out of defiance vs. Claudius. |
| Kenneth Branagh (1996) | Ideas of blurred lines between public and private life (biggest e.g.= Ophelia: secret lover of H→betrayed partner and daughter→very public psychological breakdown- conjures images of Diana)⇒royal family becomes a symbol for the fate of the family unit in society. |
| Branagh setting | Blenheim Palace |
| How does he present OH as a tyrant? | Tearing down of his statues echoes that of the end of Cold War in Soviet Republics |
| 1980 Richard Eyre | Hamlet is possessed by the ghost |
| Painting of mousetrap scene with distressed Gertrude | Edwin Austin Abbey (1897) ‘The Play Scene in Hamlet’ |
| Bradley on why Hamlet procrastinates | ” a moral repulsion to the deed” of killing Claudius |
| G Wilson Knight view of Claudius | “a good gentle king” |
| G Wilson Knight on Hamlet evil | “Hamlet is an element of evil in the state of Denmark” |
| Samuel West view of Hamlet | “Hamlet is the real villain” |
| David Garrick, the predominant actor-manager of the eighteenth century | His ‘Hamlet’ was v focused on Hamlet as a dutiful son to his father’s/ghost’s wishes |
| Edmund Kean as Hamlet | Hamlet the lover: eager love rather than terror on meeting the Ghost and his love for Ophelia remained evident even though he was forced to reject her |
| Gabrielle Dane, 2013 | “Ophelia is an asset to Polonius, a commodity to be disposed of” |
Hamlet AO5 – different productions and viewpoints
November 22, 2019