From the KingNovember 14th 2007 |
0 comments |
POGUE HAMLET BLOG #12- FINAL THOUGHTS
November 12, 2007
Well, yesterday was the last day. The last two weeks of HAMLET played to largely full houses and enthusiastic crowds. Audiences frequently rose to their feet at Adam’s curtain call to give him a boisterous standing “O”. Accolades from all quarters have been gratifying. One hopes that this might finally be a turning point for this theatre that has put on some remarkable productions in the last year and half. Certainly no other theatre in the area could have mounted this kind of production. And the mix of young and old audience members was very encouraging. As were the three school matinees we did. Along with AGL’s foray into Shakespeare this summer, the Bard seems to be a successful playwright for the theatre.
Just a few last idle observations:
Last week, I got to watch a wonderful example of an actor feeding off his audience’s reaction. Jack Parrish gave the rest of us a little seminar in the interaction between actor and audience. During his scene with Gertrude and I where Polonius speaks of Hamlet’s madness and his disaffected love for Ophelia, the audience was lapping up Jack’s performance. Every word, every gesture evoked ripples of laughter and, quite rightly, Jack continued to build and adjust his performance to the audience’s feedback, to where he was evoking guffaws out of them. It was a sight to behold and brilliantly done. After we came off stage, Jack thanked both Gertie and I for our indulgence in letting him “milk” it. I told him that it was his scene after all, the stage was his, and he should just “milk it till it was cottage cheese”, if he could. Gertrude and I were only there to throw in an occasional line to remind people he was talking to someone. There was no reason for us to try and compete with him or get in the way of him working the house. And work it he did. An awesome little turn; he had them eating out of his hand.
I read an article the other day that Jude Law will be doing a stage production of HAMLET under Kenneth Branagh’s direction. Branagh apparently told Law that: “There is no character of Hamlet, that you are Hamlet, whoever plays Hamlet is Hamlet…” Interesting notion…wonder if Adam agrees with that?
I was also idly reading a compilation of John Gielgud’s letters, a treasure trove of theatrical insight and gossip during his long years in the drama game, and perusing specifically some correspondence on the famous Richard Burton HAMLET he directed. Apparently, at one point, there was discussion of replacing Alfred Drake playing Claudius (a disturbing thought…as Drake may have been the greatest actor/singer the Broadway stage ever produced…and was always a performer I much admired…though, in truth, most of his work I know only from recordings) and of Gielgud stepping into the role. Gielgud, in his letters, seems to vacillate from being excited to “not too keen” on the idea…but does say: “…though I have some sly ideas that I believe might be very effective in a new way. The part is always acted as sort of an ogre, but I think it could be Borgiaesque and charming.”
I couldn’t agree more! And I think that is much the way both Rick and I came at the role. Claudius is an adroit politician and a man who uses his persuasive charm to manipulate. I think it is very much in the dialogue as well. He is constantly addresses R & G, Voltimand and Cornelius, even Hamlet, and Polonius: “Good friends” “Dear”; “Gentle”; “Sweet”; he flatters, soothes, puffs up others’ sense of importance. If one were to play him from the get-go as Hamlet verbally describes him, “bloat king”, “treacherous, lecherous villain”, etc, one would have nowhere to go with him. Claudius is much subtler than the distraught Hamlet’s blatant, demonizing characterization of him. Anyway, I now must re-visit my DVD of the Burton HAMLET and see what Drake did with the role. I do remember the whole production for its remarkable clarity. Not surprising with Gielgud at the helm.
During these final weeks, a small troupe of the Hamlet company…Rick, Adam, Julieanne, myself, and our young British director’s assistant, Becky Pearcy…all jaunted up north on a Thursday off-night to see the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of CYMBELINE. My curiosity about this play has now been satisfied. It is an intriguing piece and one can see why it falls under the heading of “problem play”. Though we all enjoyed director Brian Isaac Philips’ attack on the play and found it great fun. Brian went full force with what he considers its “fairy tale” aspects…and plays much of it like a Jay Ward Fractured Fairy Tale. Lots of laughs! And once again, we saw the virtues of having a set company of actors and the strength of ensemble playing, as the entire cast acquitted themselves very well. Now that my curiosity about the play itself has been satisfied, I’m now curious to see another production. While I immensely enjoyed this production, which played it strong for laughs and certainly did not disappoint; I wonder how a production might look that accentuated the story as a romance (which it is called) and, if such, would be as successful?
So now I sit idle until Moonlight & Magnolias in the spring, though I hope not idle. I’d like to get a good deal of writing done in the interval. This summer, after M&M, I hope to get out to San Francisco to see the west coast premiere of my TARTUFFE adaptation that originated at AGL last winter. Alas, Julieanne and I decided, regretfully, to cancel our annual Thanksgiving jaunt to London for our usual gorging of theatre instead of turkey. Tewkesbury, the pup, is very ill and other matters just seemed to make it unwise. I have no idea when we’ll have a chance to reschedule. I’m already suffering withdrawal pangs and no amount of BBC internet radio will fill the void of crisp, wintery London all done up for Christmas, Shaftsbury Avenue, the West End, the South Bank, the National Theatre bookshop and all my other booking haunts…Cecil Court, Foyle’s, Blackwell’s… or my Tesco Scotch egg for breakfast every morning.
I will endure…
There was another quote I ran across in the Gielgud Letters book, the context of which, alas, I can’t remember nor seem to be able to relocate. As best I recall, Gielgud was talking about an old and venerable actress. Someone had asked her where she had got her training, to which she responded: “In the wings! In the wings!”
A rather endearing quote, I think. And one to which I much subscribe. Nothing replaces experience: rubbing shoulders with fellow practitioners, learning from their experiences and talent, just getting out on stage and doing it.
As much as I thought I knew about Shakespeare, as much as I’ve read and studied and seen and experienced, I have realized with this experience how much I still am learning and how much I still have to learn. I can see why actors return to certain classic roles again and again. There’s always something new to discover, to uncover, another way to explore it. Certainly with Shakespeare. Just the complex simplicity of his language (Yes, you heard that right…complex yet simple) is a mesmerizing challenge; to say nothing of his meticulous dramaturgy and amazing psychological depth of character. I hope, as far as the Bard and I go, there will be…more anon.
Charles Edward Pogue
“Claudius”
Mr. Pogue expresses his own personal individual opinions and they in no way reflect the opinions or policies of AGL or any other organization.
Comments
Post A Comment
Comments have been disabled temporarily
No Comments