Hamlet

Hamlet puts on a smiley face.

A teen princess grapples with life, death and family.

Casting Sophie Ross as a teenage Hamlet grieving over the loss of her father and grappling with the egocentrism and violence of the family and friends that comprise her ‘kingdom’ was a radical choice by director Naomi Edwards. At first it appears Hamlet has joined the cast of All Saints (as many of the actors have), but it becomes clear that this contemporary view of Hamlet’s struggle with life and death provides new insight into this oft told story.

We know we’re in a very different world to 17^thcentury Denmark when Hamlet spray paints a smiley face on the window of the simple room that comprises the highly functional and clever set of the play.

To smile or not to smile may be the question that causes Hamlet to teeter between life and death in the aftermath of her father’s murder. But what really put a smile on the audiences’ face was the captivating use of live music from Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, played by Holly Austin and Cameron Goodall. Hamlet’s visiting pals are styled as roving Japanese punks who look as if they recently emerged from the Harajuku Underground.  The music they create delights both Hamlet and the audience and links this clever production with its Elizabethan roots and the present day.

But, unfortunately, death overtakes us all in the end.

Hamlet is on the current high school curriculum and this season is mostly sold out.

Stephen Carnell

Images: (Top) Sophie Ross and (Lower) Julia Ohannessian and Sophie Ross in STC Ed’s Hamlet

Photographer: Tracey Schramm.