Hamlet in 90 minutes. I’ve been told that’s impressive, but since I haven’t seen any other version of Hamlet on stage I don’t have much to go by. The other half of this show’s equation is the integration of Radiohead’s album Hail to the Thief, which I also hadn’t listened to going into my viewing.
Hamlet as a very specific Jukebox Musical. I couldn’t have prepared myself for how much I would vibe with this performance. I think “vibe” is truly the right word, because while the plot was clear, a lot of the meaning of the play was derived from the interactions between the actors and the music surrounding them. It impacted their characters, and drove the plot forward in montage. It communicated emotion and mental states, and had a real stage presence of its own. Plus, seeing live performers is always a treat. So overall, the show was a wonderfully moody Vibe.
Listening to music is a very visual experience for me. I almost always have a set of visuals and scenes put together for any given song, and will put a new one together when listening to a new song. It’s an almost synesthesia experience, where the qualities of the sounds in a song dictate the visual color and texture of the associated musical story I tell myself. Hamlet Hail to the Thief managed to capture the texture of Radiohead so, so well. When I listened to the album afterward, I found that the performance had impacted and pre-structure the story I imagined for every song. This is quite a personal angle for an analysis, but I think for me it says something really strong for this show’s artistic vision.
I came away from this show wanting to listen to more Radiohead. It gave me a mental map to an album that lets me understand it from a unique frame of reference. It’s a precious souvenir from this trip, that every time I listen to Radiohead I will have a pang of memory from these days.
Theatre in London U of A 