3D Hamlet

When Shakespeare set out to write Hamlet I'm sure he did not envision it to be a work that would live on to be performed even four centuries after his death. Then again, I'm equally certain that he did not think his play would take on the form it did in this particular performance.

Ladies and germs, I give you 3D Hamlet: A Lost Generation, produced and performed by the Fundamental Theater Project. The purpose? Telling Hamlet's story, the tale of a prince attempting to avenge his father's murder. The means? A cast including Alec Baldwin, a projector, a ripped curtain to be used as a screen and 3D glasses.

It's not a particularly new idea to use modern clothing instead of period dress in Shakespearean or even classical theatre. However, this particular performance had something very refreshing about it - a new take on an old tale. Perhaps it was the fact that they used a combination of live acting and multimedia, such as film footage, or the fact that the venue was not a vast auditorium but rather a very basic room with a maximum capacity of approximately 20 or 30 people. There was no stage, and the actors simply drifted among the audience, which must have been what Shakespeare's audience felt (as the custom in his time was for a few members of the public to even sit on the stage!).

 

The cast are to be applauded for not over-acting any of the parts; they seemed human and real, even though they were using the original old English, which could easily have been a barrier in itself. Yet they did not hesitate or stumble at all.

Bravo, bravisimo, Fundamental Theater Project.