The aim of this essay is to present you with the theatrical performance of the Shakespearean play ‘Hamlet’ that I attended some months ago. The performance was given by the amateur theatrical team of my father’s hometown. The paper will present you with the critical analysis of the performance.
‘Hamlet’ is one of the widely acknowledged Shakespearean theatrical plays and it is considered to be a tragedy. The local theatre of my father’s hometown has been recently renovated and the renovation has turned it into a well-established place. The seats were very comfortable and the service of the cantina in the theatre was of high quality.
The director followed the plot step by step. The director of the play was the theatre teacher of the High school of the town. He seemed to have paid attention both to the demands of the play and to its tragic nature. His guidelines were evident throughout the play and had armed the team of the actors and actresses with confidence. There was no moment of hesitation or bad acting whereas both the tragic elements and the narration of the play were performed in high quality acting. Both the lighting and the costumes were excellently prepared whereas the stage and the changes of scenery on it were characterized by high professionalism.
All the actors and actresses served their roles in efficiency and with great success. The protagonist who held the role of Hamlet was a man who showed to have had high experience in the acting procedure. His face characteristics and all his movements gave persuaded the audience that he was a man in deep sorrow who flirted seriously with depression and madness. Although there is a danger of exaggeration in plays like ‘Hamlet’, this performance kept the quality of the play without falling into any traps of exaggerating.
The Audience was presented with the plot of the young king, Hamlet, who wanted to take revenge on his father’s death. All the reverses, the reveals and the implication of the play were given smoothly and generated all the expecting agony and anxiety to the audience who attended the whole performance in no noise at all.
Notice ought to be paid to the actor who performed the role of the King as well. The moment when Hamlet entered the room, having decided to kill him, the actor who played the King seemed so absorbed in his prayer. I felt as if the King was really praying and Hamlet’s gestures, posture and facial characteristics made me sympathize his torture. Every single moment of this play is intensified by the psychological torture that the heroes have been going through. It is a play that focuses on human interpersonal relationships and passions. The penetrating look of Shakespeare who has written a tragedy that looks into the deep mazes of the human soul was depicted in detail in this specific performance.
When the performance ended they all stood up and applauded the actors and the actresses. It is my belief that they all felt the purification that such a play is meant to provide people with and they were all so deeply affected by the plot of this play.
If a performance manages to create an impact of long duration on the audience, then this performance is of high quality. The performance on Hamlet that I attended was one of these performances that make people realize and enjoy the magic that lies into theatre.
Works Cited
Kinney Arthur F. ‘Hamlet: Critical Essays’ Oxford, UK: Routledge, Inc. 2001
