In a 35th season at scenic Vanier Park in Vancouver, brings productions of Hamlet and Twelfth Night to its BMO Mainstage this summer.
With music by local trailblazer Veda Hille, Twelfth Night plays in repertory with a contemporary staging of Hamlet, Shakespeare鈥檚 classic tale of vengeance, love and loss, adapted and directed by Stephen Drover.
Meantime, the festival's Howard Family Stage welcomes versions of The Comedy of Errors and also Jivesh Parasram鈥檚 footloose adaptation of Measure for Measure.
I couldn't make the opening-night performance of Hamlet, so instead my tickets went to Lyn Verra-Lay, an artist-educator in 性视界传媒 and creator of Belinda鈥檚 Connection Caf茅 events for seniors, among many other roles. Her "plus one" was pal Barbie Warwick, assistant front-of-house co-ordinator for .
Posted below are Verra-Lay's thoughts about the show, which continues until Sept. 21.
"I prefer viewing Shakespeare plays that take place in the setting they were written, but I keep an open mind. Sunday鈥檚 performance of Hamlet at Bard on the Beach had a modern set with bookshelves that reached high, topped by a platform that was accessed by a rolling library ladder. The stage was quite open, only set with a few pieces of furniture including a chaise lounge, bar table, leather chair and several piles of books. Suspended from the grid above the stage was a large crown, probably 10 feet in diameter.
"The play began with Hamlet (Nadeem Phillip Umar Khitab) uttering his well known soliloquy, which I found a bit confusing as it鈥檚 written for Act 3, scene 1.
"As the actors entered, it was apparent that a late-'60s, early-'70s setting was implied. In celebration, there was a dance number that seemed more contemporary, but it was fun and everyone, especially Claudius (Munish Sharma), were entertaining dancers.
"As the play progressed, the setting became less a distraction and proved very versatile. The ladder actually rolled and was used to access the platform, tying the levels together. This use of space was augmented by the floor below the stage and four entrance/exit areas there.
"Hamlet鈥檚 father鈥檚 ghost was a bit wooden, but as he sat telling Hamlet how he was murdered, the stage fog hung above his head and slowly began swirling in a circle. I don鈥檛 know if that鈥檚 was deliberate, but it sure added to the spookiness of the scene.
"The actors were very well cast, giving very strong performances. I enjoyed that the players were a folksy duo, complete with acoustic guitar and pleasant harmonies.
"By the time of intermission, I felt almost breathless, as did Barbie. I probably could鈥檝e gone straight through without a break, just so I could keep the momentum going.
"When we got back to our seats, I was mesmerized by a superbly fraught Ophelia, whose tenuous grasp on reality very suddenly and swiftly disappeared. She is hauntingly depicted by Kate Besworth.
"A trap door in the middle of the stage that I鈥檇 been eyeing all evening cleverly opened to a grave ('Alas, poor Yorick - I knew him, Horatio鈥�'). I may have held my breath during the bloody fight scene at the end, amazed by the choreography that must have been meticulously blocked and rehearsed.
"When it was over, the large crown came down about 10 feet and hovered over the carnage. Barbie and I elbowed each other in satisfaction. I was immensely satisfied at the conclusion, and apparently so was the rest of the audience, agreeing with a standing ovation.
"The 1940 film version with Lawrence Olivier is hard to beat, but I have now put this production of Hamlet at the top of my list."
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