“Bard on the Beach” in Vancouver, 2024
Malcolm Page in British Columbia
2 September 2024
(Now runs all summer, with four plays in two tents)
Hamlet, directed by Stephen Drover, is located in a huge library, crammed with books, an elaborate set designed by Pam Johnson. This is her answer to ”Where did Hamlet and his father spend quality time together?” Battlements high above the library complete the ingenious set. The show begins when Hamlet and Ophelia walk forwards. She wears a long purple skirt, for this is modern dress.
Kate Besworth.
Photo credit: Tim Matheson.
Drover writes of trying to see it “as a contemporary play”. The pair sit on the floor, a youthful act, easy and affectionate, and prepare to watch a film. She leaves instead and Hamlet stands and speaks “To be or not to be.” It both reminds us of the centrality of this theme and disposes of the best-known lines. But is Hamlet as miserable at this point, before he has heard from the Ghost that his father was murdered? We go straight into the court, with Claudius presiding. His lines about sending ambassadors to Norway are cut, as is everything about international politics. This eliminates a significant theme. The scene becomes the wedding reception of Claudius (Munish Sharma) and Gertrude (Jennifer Clement), who dance showily together. Soon the whole cast are dancing. The music stops, the performers freeze and Hamlet says: “O that this too too solid flesh would melt”,” an effective theatrical moment.
Already I liked Drover’s work, respectful of the text yet ready to add his own take. I did wonder why the visiting players should be singers.
The triumph of the evening , rightly, is Nadeem Phillip Umar Khitab as a youthful Hamlet. The final life-and-death struggle with Laertes (Nathan King) was powerful. The insanity of Ophelia (Kate Besworth) was chilling. Discreet cutting makes possible just 2 hours 40 minutes of playing time. All is well spoken, and music is intelligently used. A fine Hamlet.
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The big success last year was As You Like which involved 23 tunes by the Beatles. So no surprise that music for a comedy was commissioned in 2024, the comedy being Twelfth Night. This was not exactly turning the play into a musical, merely a few new songs and new settings for those songs in the script. Local composer Veda Hille was selected. Her additions seem tame except for a couple of rousing ensemble numbers including an upbeat finale whose tone appears to contradict the message about the inevitability of rain. Anton Lipovetsky is music director, playing Feste as well as keyboard and guitar.
Charlie Gallant and Olivia Hutt in Twelfth Night.
Photo credit: Tim Matheson.
The words “carnival” and “circus” recur in the programme notes by the set and costume designers. So the grand piano is bright blue, a large red crown hangs above, and the stage is dotted with gaudy objects. There is a swan boat, which I don’t expect to see on any stage, let alone in Shakespeare. Costumes are so varied as to make Illyria Never-Never Land. Carnival I suppose picks up on the final celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas; circus doesn’t connect at all for me.
Olivia Hutt plays a very dignified Olivia. Nathan Kay finds all the laughs as Aguecheek; his danced back trick earns a good response. Malvolio is played by a woman, Dawn Petten. At the end she wears a fright wig and yellow tights, a cruel fate. Antonio is also played by a woman, which unfortunately confuses the character’s relationship with Sebastian. Camille Legg catches most of Viola’s experiences and Aidan Correia plays an enigmatic Orsino.
Shakespeare may have occasionally written light entertainment – Merry Wives? But not with Twelfth Night, which sings of rain, cold and “Come Away, Death” and includes bereavement, unrequited love and persecution. Though the programme note by the director, Diana Donnelly, acknowledges “a little shadow” in the play, this production leaves out the serious, replacing it with silliness. Laughs, yes, effects, yes, but no subtlety.
