About This Clip
Search: Hamlet (Edison Theatre)
Search: Hamlet centers around an absent Hamlet. Each participant enters a dialogue that develops and interprets the contemporary search for Hamlet in their cultures and communities today.
Designers: Wu Wen Guang (documentary film maker from Beijing, China), Set Designer – Justin Hill (Australia-Singapore), Lighting Designer – Jesper Kongshaug (Denmark), and Costume Designer – Koji Hamai (Japan)
Search: Hamlet (Edison Theatre)
Clips
Search for Hamlet in China
Video was projected in the background during Ong Keng Sen’s staging of Search: Hamlet in 2002. more
Video was projected in the background during Ong Keng Sen’s staging of Search: Hamlet in 2002.
ghost’s first appearance
A figure evoking the Ghost appears and dances on a slightly raised platform on the stage.
A figure evoking the Ghost appears and dances on a slightly raised platform on the stage. less
Related Productions
- A Theatre Company Found a Theatre and Theatred Hamlet (al-Ṭarīfi, Khālid; 1984)
- Bir Baba Hamlet (A Father’s Hamlet) (Eren, Emrah; 2017)
- Hamlet sou eu (I am Hamlet) (Penim, Pedro; 2007)
- Search: Hamlet (Kronborg Castle) (Ong, Keng Sen; 2002)
- Ur-Hamlet (Barba, Eugenio; 2006)
This concept is extremely unique, especially in regards to Hamlet. The original Hamlet is so focused on the character and emotions of Hamlet that removing him from the situation allows for an understanding of secondary characters independent from their relationships with the Prince.
I find myself quite inspired by this interpretation of Hamlet at the Edison Theatre. I was first intrigued by the initial image chosen to represent the video. I found the performance strong in it’s dynamics, as the raw, beautifully grotesque images produce a deeper sentiment, silent in it’s own communication. The contemporary movements used allows for a strikingly different perception of beauty and the fluidity of emotional and it’s consequences; whether conscious and subjective. It challenges traditional theatre by it’s inclusion of motion, sound, and costume. It’s strong shades of earth connect the viewer to a more grounded sense of reality, as it’s heavy themes of the elements exemplify that. It’s Eastern influence is both mystical and primitive, creating global appreciation and the fluidity of life.
TAGS: Contemporary dance, nature, nudity, water, earth.
This is the most visually impressive ghost I have seen on stage. It is hypnotic and very appropriate for the situation. The movements truly convey a sense of loss and terror.