The cast of "Kill Shakespeare" (c/o Bleedingcool.com)
I didn’t get round to this last night (it’s been a long week…) but I stumbled across a comic “inspired by” Shakespeare’s work: Kill Shakespeare.
The closest thing I can think of to it is Fables: it’s all a bit meta, with Shakespeare being sought out by his several of his characters in an attempt to defeat the forces of evil led by Richard III…
Exactly.
What intrigues me about this is not so much that it’s a straight adaptation, but one which takes Shakespeare as a jumping-off point for the kind of story we more often associate with comics–the website bills it as full of:
action, romance, comedy, lust, drama and bloody violence.
You had me at “Shakespeare”.
Obviously, I’m a little sad that the creative team looks to be an all-male one, (plus ca change, right?) but I’m curious as to what they do with their main female characters: Lady Macbeth and Juliet… who survives the events of “Romeo & Juliet” and apparently turns ninja-rebel-warrior-badass. Fingers crossed.
And, right there, you have the Problem of Hamlet. That you’re not just having to be Hamlet, dealing with the demands of his father’s ghost; you’re having to be Hamlet, dealing with the ghosts of a thousand other Hamlets. It’s like “Fringe” on hardcore drugs.
John Simm must be feeling this at the moment: the first reviews are coming in from the new production in Sheffield, and look positive enough for him. The Observer’s critic likes the emphasis in the Big Soliloquy:
Simm also comes up with some fascinating line readings: when he cries “to die, to sleep”, Simm puts enormous pressure on the last word as if Hamlet, rendered insomniac through grief, yearned more than anything for rest.
While–if I remember rightly, and you’ll have to take my word for it because it’s tucked away behind their snug little paywall–the Sunday Times were particularly interested in the fact the play uses at least partly the Folio version of the text, in which:
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”
becomes
“… than are dreamt of in our philosophy”
One little letter, one little word: makes a huge difference, doesn’t it?
Shakespeare’s work is notoriously slippery as text: there’s so many versions – Folio, Quarto, Bad Quarto… which one is actually the right one, the most authentic? Or do they all have some degree of validity? The Folio is the “authorised” version published after his death, but does this mean that the author had less involvement in its final form? Tricky. (There’s a very interesting article on The Stage’s website that discusses this very problem).
What it does mean, though, is that every Hamlet has the chance to put his (or her, as there have been several female Hamlets) stamp on the role, not just in their choice of emphasis on the lines, but even in the lines they choose to speak. And while every actor taking on the role might well feel Olivier, Burton and all the others looming over them like Old Hamlet himself, every Hamlet is a new one. All you need now is a dancing Walter.
Oh, wait…
(Now, don’t you go telling me I’m not good to you….)
The most famous six words in the world? Maybe. Certainly it’s among the most famous in literature.
There’s a great piece with Samuel West on the BBC’s site today about bringing a fresh interpretation to a soliloquy which has been performed so many times and by so many people that it’s almost impossible to imagine a world without it.
Interpretations can differ, he says, depending on how much you think Hamlet is suicidal or philosophical.
There is also a choice between introspection and engagement, he says. When he acted the part for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the stage lights came up, he strode out towards the audience and looked them in the eye.
Hamlet is my favourite play (with Dr Faustus coming a very close second. If only someone put together a Hamlet / Mephistopheles mash-up, I’d probably be in heaven.*). At two-and-a-half, my son can even do the first two lines of the big soliloquy, just because. (Despite my best efforts, I’ve not managed to catch him on tape doing it: he suddenly starts singing the theme to Bob the Builder the second he’s got any kind of audience, so you’ll just have to take my word for it!) He’s not bad at it either–although his Hamlet’s a bit manic for my liking. And short. And prone to tantrums. Although….
Anyway. For your delectation, here’s a selection of Hamlets. Who’s your favourite?
Branagh
Burton
Jacobi
Tennant
Theo
Yep. Mine too.
*There’s an entirely esoteric and not-very-good joke to be made there involving one of the big M’s lines. I’m not going there. Be thankful.
