The Top Floor Flat

I love Shakespeare and I love Hamlet. I love Hamlet as a book, as a performed play, as a movie… if they made little Hamlet biscuits I could have with my tea, I’d probably buy them. You’re probably wondering why on earth I’m going on about Hamlet when clearly, having just returned from an amazing trip to Paris, I could be discussing my lack of French vocabulary, French pastries and incredible window shopping. If it’s any consolation, I will discuss those things in length throughout the week but before lack of sleep completely removes all memory of it from my brain I wanted to talk about a very special event I attended last night after returning home to London from Paris.

At 23:30 I found myself at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre along with about 1000 other loyal fans who had gathered for a midnight showing of Underground Hamlet, a production coordinated by a group called The Factory Theatre. Underground Hamlet gets its name from the fact that the performance location is a secret until the week preceding the show and there is no formal publicity – it’s all done through word of mouth. Besides this, the show is unique in that, although it stays true to the unabridged script, there are no props or costumes other than what is provided by the audience on the night of the show. To top it all off, each of the actors can play multiple roles… and are cast minutes before the play begins by a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors.

I had been looking forward to this event for some time. As I mentioned – I love Hamlet. And Spoonfed had done an interview with one of the Factory Theatre co-founders and his passion and enthusiasm for the show (which has been running for a year today – happy birthday Underground Hamlet!) more than anything meant that I was beyond excited for the show. The fact that it was at midnight at the famous Globe theatre just made it that much better.

The show was brilliant and the audience, made up of many members who had seen the play dozens of times before over the last year (as it changes every time due to the improvisational elements) didn’t fail to arrive with the wackiest and weirdest props you could imagine. Some of the best included a gas mask, a model of K-9 the robot dog, a head of lettuce (which played a vital role in a complete food fight at the end of act IV) and a real stuffed deer provided by some local taxidermist.

Despite the fact that the three and a half hour play didn’t begin until after midnight, the audience was lively and engaged the whole way through (aided by liberal amounts of tea, coffee and Red Bull). Some, who knew Hamlet as well as the cast, aided in the dialogue (a young man on my left appropriately called out “you villain!” just before Hamlet’s monologue continued with “who calls me a villain?”). It was such a thrill to be with the energetic crowd and part of the interactive production. It really did feel like the whole audience was part of creating the play.

As I was attending as a member of the press through Spoonfed, I had to keep a mildly critical eye over the proceedings for an unbiased review (I think they might have regretted giving me the free ticket if I’d come back of 500 words reading, effectively, “OMG I love Hamlet!”). Therefore my only criticism of the night was in the “challenges” the director set for the actors each act.

After act I, each new act was introduced with a new challenge that tested the actor’s improvisational skills and creativity. For example, during act II, only one actor at a time was allowed on the stage. During act III, one actor would recite a certain character’s dialogue from the balcony while another acted out the character in the scene and lip synched along from the stage. Both of these were quite enjoyable and didn’t distract from the play itself. After the interval, and in acts IV and V, however, things got a bit rocky. In act IV, the two (or more!) actors who could play a single role were all on stage together playing the part. While this worked exceptionally well for the characters of Hamlet and Ophelia (who by this point had gone all but completely mad and a certain level of schizophrenia added to the impression), with four versions of Claudius and three of Gertrude on the stage, things were a bit hectic.

Where I started to lose the thread of the play entirely was in act V when the challenge stated that the actors couldn’t speak while the musician played and they couldn’t move while the accompaniment was silent. This led to a very disjointed and staccato final few scenes – in which so much action and emotion generally resides. What this does show, interestingly, is the true importance of both movement and words to a play like Hamlet.

But I’m being petty in a probably misguided need to find something to criticise. There is no doubt in my mind that I will attend another Underground Hamlet performance. The cast claims the shows will run until there is no longer enough interest (and sponsorship) to sustain them so I certainly will do my part in providing emotional support for the event. It’s always interesting to see the many ways Shakespeare has been dressed up, dressed down, modernised, and generally reconstructed over the years and Underground Hamlet was no exception. I am so glad I attended and am lucky to have this experience to chalk up as another unbelievably unique part of my travels abroad.

Recap of Paris (and updated itinerary – of what actually happened and how much it cost) coming soon!