June 14: Hamlet Hail to the Thief – Review

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.

Markets: May 23, May 24, June 12

May 23: Old Spitalfields, pt.1

After visiting the Tower of London, the group headed to Old Spitalfields Market. There, I had some nice curry and later, a latte. While drinking my bevy, I did some watercolor. As I stood to leave, a staff member who had been on break behind me stopped me and asked if I wanted to be on their “wall of fame”. I obliged, and now me and my quick painting remain in Noxy, at least until they change out the board. This interaction had lifted my mood, and I set about the market with intention to talk. I would not be lacking in this department that day.

I came to a stall full of trinkets, where I met a man named William. Will had been a world-traveler, and was now selling his trinkets. He had a piece of wisdom for each piece of merchandise, and eventually he gave me a long talk about judging the quality of Jade. The conversation was one that I hold most treasured from this trip. It was strangely life-affirming, this older gentleman’s words on self-discovery amidst travel, and made me excited for both this journey and those to come.

May 24: Camden Market

Our day trip to Camden Market started with a lovely walk along a mucky canal. We saw interesting new waterfowl, a saddening amount of plastic waste, and a great deal of graffiti. The stonework of the canal extended up to meet the entrance of Camden Market, matching it in tone and texture. 

We were stopped on the way to the shops by a piece of interactive theatre. A mad scientist and his assistants began rambling about some new strange lore about the area, and engaged our group and others with participatory word games. The show seemed to be a smaller part of a larger show, called Storehouse Live, which would be a grander spectacle also involving audience participation. 

I admired these actors’ commitment to their characters. They were improvising over a loose script, and managed to hold the casual audience pretty well. I think their wonderful costumes and set probably helped a great deal, both in my perception of their success and for their own ability to stay in-character. The whole vibe was that of an intricate cosplay of a show I’d never seen, their characters just barely skirting the generic and recognizable into the sort of iconic.

June 12: Old Spitalfields, pt. 2

After seeing some interesting and strange art at the Tate Modern Museum (a doomed yuri psychological thriller short film and a Rothko or two) and getting a haircut, I found myself back at Old Spitalfields again. It was an accident, but one I didn’t waste. I was feeling bold; a new haircut was putting me in the mood to challenge my food palette. I ordered a Turkish Wrap from Nelly’s (the cheese option). It was in some ways familiar, the bread reminiscent of a variety of naan, the cheese likely feta (one of my favourites). In some ways, it was extremely different; it had a kind of seasoned bean-paste as a core ingredient that I was unfamiliar with, but enjoyed deeply. The side items included in the dish were some greens and some kind of cooked grain in a fermented sauce. The couscous-like side was too sour for my taste, and I avoided it. I think a more daring eater would appreciate the contrast it provided to the rich and buttery wrap. In the end, it was a filling and enjoyable meal, even if it didn’t blow me away.

Stratford upon Avon and a very dramatic goobye to England (And college?? Hello???)

At least once a day, I or one of my friends will say something along the lines of “wow… it feels like we’ve been over here for a week and simultaneously three years.” And that’s how I’m feeling as I sit here in my bed, on my last night in England, writing my final Theatre in London blog post. Over the past month I have laughed, I have cried, I have gotten lost, I have blended in,I have been challenged, and I have grown. But before I get all sappy and emotional, let me tell you a little about where we have spent the last forty-eight hours: Stratford Upon Avon.

            What a quaint little town Stratford Upon Avon is. When we first got here, Shawn walked us around the entirety of the town which took…twenty minutes. So miss girl is small, but she is mighty. And she is FILLED with so much history. Stratford is where Shakespeare was born, lived for the majority of his life, and then died. Over the past two days we have gotten to see Shakespeare’s grave, birthplace, and where he lived – at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. It has been so cool to get to stand in the places that Shakespeare stood. To walk in the gardens he walked. Today we got to visit a market in town that has been happening every weekend for the past eight hundred years. Which is just mindboggling to me. I think I’ve talked about this in a previous blog post, but being in a place that is just oozing with history is such a crazy experience because you are reminded just how fragile life is and how little time we have on this earth.

            It is truly crazy to me that this time tomorrow I will be back in Arkansas. This trip has been such a great way to end my college career. I have gotten to see so many shows, and yes, enjoy them. But also get to analyze them using the tools I have learned in my undergraduate career. On a walk today, Sarah, Claire, Jade, and I were talking about the different ways we feel like this trip has made an impact on us. While yes, I think this trip has changed me, I don’t know that just by the sheer design of the trip, I have not had the time to fully process the ways that I have changed. But what I do know is this: I am an artist. I am a storyteller. It’s what I was born to do, and it’s what I will always do. No matter what hardship I go through, no matter how much change I face, I know that that is true. I am so grateful that I got to live in England with some of my best friends for a month. And learn. And grow. That is truly such a blessing and as I sit here, finishing up this blog post I am reminded that with the submission of this post, I will have officially completed a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Performance. So not only is this post goodbye to England, it is the finale of a three year long chapter of my life. I am so grateful to these people who have loved me and nurtured me. Who have held me, and uplifted me. I am forever grateful for our friendship and community with one another. May these memories last forever.

I am truly changed for good,

-R

June 5: Clouds Above Hampton Court Palace

The day was cloudy, my mind, foggy. A lovely train ride, that old sleepy joy, took our group out to Hampton Court Palace. I didn’t nod off during this drive, but I did find myself slipping into a sort of drear. It was a kind of ironic aloofness that occasionally takes me over, where my thoughts feel veiled even to myself. A gentle rain pattered around us on the approach to the palace, droplets bouncing on the pretty poppies populating the front garden. I could still appreciate the majesty of this place. Still smell the flowers and absorb the atmosphere of import this place imparted.

The palace was larger than expected. A large entryway led us into a charming little alley and courtyard. It felt like a dense town more than a single building, and indeed many of the locations within the palace were separated in floorplan despite being connected by large covered walkways. Through these covered walkways we began our tour.

We visited kitchens, abound with herbs and old cooking equipment. The displays felt… not half-hearted, but almost… too clean. Too smoothed over. I can imagine working in this kitchen, and the image of a large space feeding dozens of denizens isn’t one marked by flat white surfaces. This place would smell stranger than an Olive Garden after closing, All, Of, The, Time. And I think I would love it? I would fit in amongst the chocolatiers more than the cooking staff. I fancy myself a baker and candy-maker more than cook.

Next stop on the journey were the apartments and Tudor-era area. I didn’t absorb much of the history, to be honest. It’s not my area of expertise nor interest. I liked the way this area was displayed more than the kitchens. It felt more honest and cared for. I could visualize the dining experience here. I could hear the whispers of gossip and drama in the corners of sitting rooms and hallways. I especially enjoyed one room with seats and speakers simulating a room where lords would debate politics, in which myself, some friends, and a few other tourists pantomimed speaking the lines our chairs produced. The final point of interest here was a set of displays using origami techniques I recognized, the Herringbone Tesselation. The pattern was used all over multiple displays, but here I have one of a duck.

The rain subsided, and I walked out into a surreal garden. It was huge, and ablaze with comfortable social activity. Birds of many kinds zipped among ponds and mushroom-shaped trees. I appreciated the reprieve from stuffy hallways. I think this is where I would spend much of my time, living in a palace like this. It is a sincere dream of mine to build a palace of a house with my partner, Goodwin. A home not so massive as this one, but certainly with a large and welcoming garden space to lounge about in. I left this garden yearning for that dream.

The train ride back was a sleepy one.

Hail to the Thief (aka Hell to my Emotional State)

As I come to the end of this trip, I now have a definitive list of my favorite shows. At the top sits Benjamin Button and, at a comfortable second, Hamlet: Hail to the Thief. When evaluating why these two musicals struck me so deeply, I have come to realize that the way they utilize music plays a humongous factor. Both of these works take well known pieces of literature, gut the aspects of the originals that are outdated and boring, and then they use music to rewrite (at least in some aspects) the story. Now I have already written about Benjamin Button, so I will keep my thoughts brief. It is a play that elongates a fairly short story, and adds music and new dialogue to create a fuller dialogue. On the contrary, Hamlet: Hail to the Thief approaches their use of music in a completely different fashion. Hamlet can be a very long and drawn out play (something I worried about when I heard there would be no intermission). This play chooses to use music as a tool to create a faster (better) pace. They also use music to tell parts of the story without having to use actual dialogue. It is also just a very obvious representation of the mental spiral of each character. 

One of my favorite scenes of the entire play, a scene that demonstrates the use of music extremely well, is the scene in which Ophelia and Hamlet are alone together on stage (right after the first large musical number). The intimacy between their movements highlighted their adolescence, love and lust for each other, and the understanding and connectedness the two have with one another. In fact, this dance single handedly made this production my favorite portrayal of Ophelia and Hamlet’s relationship.

However, while this was one of my favorite shows, whoever decided to put one of the most heartbreaking, gut-wrenching artists as the soundtrack of one of Shakespeare’s most devastating works is a diabolical evil genius and they scare me (but like also let me kiss your brain). 

Also, to the people that stole my ticket, sleep with one eye open.

HAMLET HAIL TO THE SOUND GUY NEXT TO US!!!

The Royal Shakespeare Company is a place that has been top of my list of where I wanted to see live theater for years. They are known for the high caliber of actors that they bring in, the incredible design elements that bring their shows to life, and the audiences that travel far and wide just to see their productions. Its not called the Royal Shakespeare Company for no reason, and we saw that clearly on Saturday night!

Going into Hamlet : Hail to The Thief, I had no idea what to expect! It was such a perfect surprise in every way. I was shocked by how much depth the element of music added to the production – and had so many emotions throughout the show that wouldn’t have been there without the music.

First of all, the opening immediately caught my attention (i love a good mood setting music). and the opening song was a huge attention hook. I could tell from the get that the design would be insane, and that the music would work perfectly all together.

Acting wise – I dont think anyone fell short. Specifically Hamlet and Ophelia – wow. They could not have been casted better, in my opinion. Theres something Ive noticed about the pattern of the tones of the male leads voices in a lot of these UK shows. They tend to have the same softness, almost nasality? It weirdly makes their voices so soothing to listen to, and if I was a casting director, part of my decision process probably would be “Could I listen to them speak for 2 hours straight?”. The two Ive noticed with this kind of tone were Romeo from Romeo and Juliet at the Globe, and Hamlet from Hamlet : Hail to The Thief at the RSC. Ophelia had the same beautiful tone and presence. She brought such a gorgeous and tragic life to the character, and her relationship with Hamlet was so clearly defined from the very beginning.

The music was something I would never think this show needed, but wow. It added this level of truth and explanation that sometimes words cant even express. As my favorite girl Kristen Chenoweth says, “We sing because we can’t speak anymore”. And its true! This was the perfect element to an already incredible piece. I’d never seen Hamlet performed live before this, and this was the greatest first production to see.

The music was deep – so loud at sometimes that you could feel it shaking your bones. It was reverent at times and tragic and also beautiful, all within the context of the text. The music before and during Ophelia’s breakdown, when she sings “He promised me to wed” was heartbreaking and gave so much thought to her character, and made me realize she was just a girl in love, who realized the evil truth along with Hamlet.

The music when the actors would come into the lit up square to show the text through movement was the most impressive part of the show for me. The way that they figured out how to convey they text of Shakespeare through small movements within such a confined space – and have it make complete sense for moving the story along – was wild to me. I sat in awe as the actors told their story.

The best part of the show, besides the incredible actors, music, and direction, was the sound guy next to us. He was genuinely having the time of his life and I was cracking up every time I looked ver and saw him. I’ve never seen someone rock out so hard.

The addition of music in general was a brilliant idea, but to think to add the music of RadioHead …. unreal. It just worked perfectly. This was an incredible show and one that is absolutely at the top of my list from this trip!

xo, jo

Goodbye for Now, My Beautiful London

The best part about Stratford is all the history of Shakespeare. Every corner seems to be connected to him; his birthplace, his school, his grave, and even the house where Anne Hathaway lived. It’s cool to see how this little town raised one of the most famous writers in the world. It made me appreciate how far his words have traveled, all the way from this tiny, cozy town to the huge stages of London and around the world. Seeing his story up close made everything we’ve read and watched feel more real.

But as cool as Stratford was, I couldn’t help but miss London. I miss the noise, the energy, the feeling that something’s always happening. In London, we were constantly moving; seeing shows, walking through historic sites, discovering food spots, the markets, and just soaking in everything the city had to offer. Every day was full. I got used to the pace, the people, and the buzz of city life.

This trip overall has been so amazing. I’ve seen more theatre in the past few weeks than I probably have in my whole life (I saw 20 shows like OMGGG), and stood and seen places and objects I’ve only read about in history books. From Shakespeare’s Globe to Buckingham Palace, from Camden Market to the West End, it’s been unforgettable. London felt like it had everything, and I honestly fell in love with it.

Stratford gave me a quiet moment to reflect, but it also reminded me just how much I loved being in the middle of the action. This journey has made me appreciate both the small stories and the big cities. And even though I know we had to slow down at some point, I’d go back to London in a heartbeat. I am going to forever miss this trip and all the people on it. To a sad Goodbye, Goodbye London, I will love you forever and always!

This is Sophie signing off!

June 4: Persona Portrait

The first thing I was drawn to at the National Portrait Gallery was the self-portrait of Scottish Theatrical Designer Doris Zinkeisen. The contrast, I think, was what did it: her dynamic angle against a flat backdrop, and her pale skin, itself shadowed, against a black kimono with a brightly colored pattern. The contrasts create a captivating and clearly understood image, especially at its large scale. 

Doris’ overall look in this portrait evokes a flamboyant and risque artist, standing before what could be an unfinished backdrop, a swath of fabric for a costume, or even a stage curtain. The lacey edge of the kimono draped along her hand creates a reverence for the artist’s hands, sheltering them from view while drawing attention from the viewer with contrast and repetition in pattern. Her hair is stylish but out of the way, drawing little attention away from her face, which is lit up with strong blush and bright lipstick. (note that the blue element in the hair is a reflection)

The composition is aloof, perhaps even disarming, as if she’d heard you just moments ago and turned to meet your gaze. The shadows over her face and chest serve to distinguish her from the light background, while also creating a mysterious emotional caste throughout the painting. It’s not perhaps her best light and angle, evoking a turn that in film might signal murderous intent, but here it creates an honest, vulnerable image. Combined with her loose kimono, the scene feels emotionally intimate. 

Thematically, I see this image following that thread of emotional intimacy all the way into this artist’s mind. The Kimono, a black void loosely draped, is full of color and design, like the inside of her mind. The style of painting on the kimono looks more like Trompe-l’œil than a more typical kimono design. 

If I could step into this portrait, I would first look to see how the artist’s facial expression changes as I step into view. Would she be shocked and step away, or maintain that confident gaze? Then, as the setting focuses in, what kind of workshop would I find myself in? The image has left it unclear. I expect the smell of paint to be heavy wherever I end up. I also would expect a floral perfume, with notes of grass, matching the look of the kimono.

Hamlet: The Musical (Not really but kind of)

Guys we did it. We made it to our final show of the trip. I have officially seen 25 shows in less than 30 days. Which is INSANE to think about and I am very emotionally overstimulated just by the vast range of shows that I have experienced.

            Our final show that we saw on this trip was Hamlet: Hail to the Thief at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon. Ya’ll… it was crazy. In the best way possible. So, it was literally Hamlet… set to the music of Radiohead. Yeah. The rock band. And the crazy thing was… it worked. Really really well. I know this comes as a shock to you, but I did not know a single Radiohead song going into this show. I know. *Gasp* I had reread Hamlet prior to coming on this trip in order to prepare for our in class discussion, and was reminded just how much I loved the source material. Needless to say, I was so intrigued by how they were going to use music to tell this story that has been around for hundreds of years. Were they going to use Shakespearean language and iambic pentameter? Was it going to be the story of hamlet but in a jukebox musical format with Radiohead songs. I am happy to report it was neither of these things.

            First, the show was one hour and forty minutes… no intermission. Which, if you know me, you know I LOVE a tight 90–100-minute show without an intermission. And Hamlet is notorious for being a long show. So, I was delighted to learn that this was going to be Hamlet told at the length of a Disney movie (The Lion King?!). As for structure, they used Shakespearean text, and then a lot of the longer scenes in the source material using Radiohead songs. They had 2 main actors that sang the songs, along with a live band. They were accompanied by the actors, who would sometimes sing, but mostly interpretive danced to the song as their character would. Being a musical theatre fan, I thought that this concept did an excellent job of propelling the journey of the characters forward while not deleting any information about the plot or given circumstances. In musical theatre, it is often said that characters should only sing whenever the emotion they are feeling is so great, the only way they can process these feelings is to sing about them. And while this was not Hamlet: The Musical, I felt like the songs were intentionally placed and did not feel disjointed or out of place.

            However, the direction of the piece is what stood out to me the most. The actors used every single inch of this stage, and it was so effective in communicating the director’s perspective. The show was visually stunning, but I felt like this production was effective at asking the audience its main question: What does grief to do a human? How do different people work through grief? It honestly felt like a commentary on Hamlet’s mental health journey and how he processed the passing of his father. Not even his passing, his murder. The final image of the piece was breathtaking. At the beginning of the show, there are multiple suit jackets that are hanging on stage. They fly out right when the show starts, and we don’t see them again until the final scene, where they fly in again. It was at this moment where you realize that they are flying in at the exact places they were before. Only this time, they are hung above all the people who were killed in the final fight. This use of foreshadowing that we didn’t even know existed was so genius and I will be thinking about it for a very long time.

            What an incredible way to end our series of shows. I truly think I will be processing and relieving a lot of these shows for years to come, and I am so grateful that I got to see Hamlet: Hail to the Thief.

-R

The set of Hamlet: Hail to the Thief

Hamlet Hail to Every Single Choice Made!

Our last show of the trip has come and gone! I am so happy and honored that it is Hamlet. It is my favorite Shakespeare and has a lot of personal significance to me, so getting to see it performed live for the first time was everything I could’ve asked for. This was different from anything we saw here, and honestly, different than anything I have really ever heard about or seen outside our trip. This show interwove songs from Radiohead to tell the story, and at one point had the actors on stage singing some of the songs from the show. But I am getting ahead of myself! Let go from the top!

First, I had about as good of a seat as I could’ve asked for in terms of the ones that we were all given. I was the very last seat of the first row of the circle, so I was sitting on stage right facing the “side” of the thrust stage. On the stage were a bunch of heavy coats that at the start of the show flew out. There were two floors to the set, and at the bottom of the lower floor were windows with musicians who were playing the music live. The second floor took up the entire rest of the stage and was a 20-foot tall screen that had speakers and soundproofing material on it. The visuals that were on that screen were stunning. There were three doors in the upper story, and two singers came out of the two side doors and sang during the transactions. Speaking of transitions, they were some of the most well utilized transitions I had ever seen. The show was 1 hour 40 minutes instead of the normal 3-hour production that Hamlet is, so in order to cut scenes but show what was cut to keep the story flowing and making sense, they had the actors briefly act out their interactions in one to two movements. I am not doing it justice with my description but trust that it was great. There was a really minimal set, only a few speakers which acted as stools and stands, and then a few props here and there, which were all red when they came onto the stage. The only two I remember were the megaphone Hamlet uses during his scene with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern where they see him as mad, and then the cup that Gertrude drinks out of at the end of the show. Oh, and the dagger that most of the people die by. But there wasn’t much else. 

I want to touch on some scenes I love! The “to be or not to be scene” was done in a way that Hamlet was saying it to Ophelia while they are being listened in on, so they mushed those two scenes together. It really worked. Then, when Ophelia is about to die, they have her say the monologue and it has a delayed echo through the whole theater and it was AMAZING. Also with Ophelia and Hamlet, the first scene they are in together has very few words, and was just them goofy dancing together, it was probably my favorite scene in the show because the chemistry was crazy but so was the simplicity and believability of the scene. I should now say that the acting was everything and more. There was not one actor who was a weak link, and I struggled to find a show in my memory where that was not the case. Our Hamlet was very similar to Adam Scott’s Hamlet in terms of delivery and tone, but had his own spin to it, as well as youth, that made it also phenomenal. 

All in all, I loved that this was our last show. We have seen so much theater in this last month, and I am grateful to have seen such a wide range and variety.