Saturday, November 09, 2013

Schmitz shines as tormented prince in Stone's Hamlet

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, there's no such thing as Shakespeare's version of Hamlet.

‘Though this be madness, yet there is method in it’

Everyone brings their own interpretation of the tragic Danish prince to the stage:

THE last time Belvoir did Hamlet, Geoffrey Rush played a Horatio who was always onstage, the moral core of the play, watching on sad and confused as this dreadful family tore itself apart and the state of Denmark was destroyed. In Simon Stone's production, Hamlet has no friend Schmitz Shines (and like Jeff Toby had to have a ciggie outside after the show

We all know that, to make a Hamlet, you have to break a few eggs and, if there’s anyone that’s known for doing that, it’s young gun director Simon Stone. Sometimes, said eggs are cracked with deft precision; at others, they fracture in an unexpected way and end up all over the floor. When critics laud Simon, he seems to exhibit no loss of composure but, if we say, now and then, ‘oh, Simon, what a mess!’, he’s tended to attribute it to our misunderstanding of cooking technique. Belvoir ~~ Artshub review ~~ Review over Dinner ~~~After few wines not so good review